GODZILLA VS. KONG
LAST ONSTER STANDING
WHO WILL RULE THE MONSTERVERSE IN GODZILLA VS. KONG’S BATTLE OF THE BEASTS? THERE’S ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT… FIIIIIIIIGHT! DIRECTOR ADAM WINGARD TELLS US MORE
WORDS: BRYAN CAIRNS
WARNER BROS, ALAMY
GENRE AFICIONADOS LOVE TO DEBATE.
What science fiction franchise rules the galaxy? Which comic book company spawned the best characters? What iconic horror villain slays the other slashers? And when Godzilla vs. Kong roars into cinemas and living rooms globally this month, audiences will once again be forced to choose a side.
Simply put, the movie hinges on the ultimate showdown between the two legendary monsters, and fans have their favourites. Director Adam Wingard (Death Note, Blair Witch) says that even before he became attached to the project, he entertained an idea of which creature would emerge victorious… and then needed to re-evaluate those expectations.
“This actually goes back to an argument I had with my best friend in second grade, on the playground,” Wingard tells SFX over the phone. “A group of us were debating who would win in a fight, Godzilla or King Kong. I’m not going to reveal anything other than that. I felt my friend was very wrong and I was right.
“This is the most roundabout, expensive way to settle a schoolyard argument from second grade! I have the last word. I am going to have to reach out to him. He probably doesn’t even remember having this argument with me when we were kids, but it made an impression and now I have the last laugh,” he chuckles.
“The thing I love about these characters is that over the decades – and so many filmmakers have had a chance to put their spin on this – there’s something very iconic about a large primate and a giant, for lack of a better word, lizard,” he continues. “There’s something about the immediacy of those designs that allow us so much imprinting. They represented so many different things over the years. Godzilla is a pendulum of a character. He swings good and bad within successive films that have been made. And his roots are very serious, with the atomic bomb. But, for me, it’s a childhood memory that is something I really cherish and brought me up as a filmmaker.”
What’s that coming out of the sea – is it a monster?
“No way will he be able to break out of those…”
“This actually goes back to an argument I had with my friend in second grade, on the playground”