With production onGodzilla: King of Monstersstarting next month in Atlanta, the cast continues to grow, with one returning star from 2014’sGodzillaand a new cast member as well. Sally Hawkins, who playedMonarch scientistVivienne Graham, has come aboard to reprise her role, whileGame of Thronesstar Charles Dance has also signed on. No details have been given for Charles Dance’s character at this time, but with filming scheduled to begin soon, hopefully we’ll learn more about the story and the characters as production gets under way.
Deadlinebroke the news of both actors' casting, although it isn’t clear how many more roles are left to be filled. They both join Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga andStranger ThingsstarMillie Bobby Brown, who play a family that is reportedly integral to the central plot. O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton) has also come aboard, but no details have been given regarding his character. However, that report from March which revealed his casting also stated that Ken Watanabe’s character Dr. Ishiro Serizawa would be the only character from the firstGodzillamovie, but that apparently isn’t the case anymore.
In the originalGodzilla movie, Dr. Ishiro Serizawa and Vivienne Graham were working for Monarch in 1999, when they investigated a colossal skeleton discovered in a mine in the Philippines. 15 years later, they joined a U.S. Navy task force to search for what they called a Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism (MUTO), a.k.a.Godzilla, lead by Admiral William Stenz (David Strathairn). It was established in the first film that Vivienne Graham had been Serizawa’s “right hand” for many years, so it certainly makes sense to bring her back for the sequel. However, since most of the other main cast members inGodzillawere killed, it seems unlikely that anyone else will return to reprise their roles.
Michael Dougherty(Krampus) has come aboard to direct from a screenplay he co-wrote with Zach Shields (Krampus). They both were slated to head up theGodzillaandKing Kongwriters room, but now Terry Rossio will be handling those duties. This movie, which is slated to hit theaters on June 01, 2025, will tie directly intoGodzilla vs. Kong, which has been set for release on July 04, 2025.Godzilla 2was first announced at Comic-Con 2014, where it was confirmed that the iconic Toho monsters Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah will be part of the story. The post credit scene ofKong: Skull Islandfeatured ancient cave drawings featuring Godzilla and these three creatures.
Warner Bros. and Legendary haven’t confirmed what projects will come next out of this joint franchise, but theGodzilla writers roomwas announced back in March. Terry Rossio will be shepherding a team of writers that includes Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne (Star Trek 4), Lindsey Beer (The Kingkiller Chronicles), Cat Vasko (Queen of the Air), T.S. Nowlin (Pacific Rim: Uprising), Jack Paglen (Alien: Covenant) and J. Michael Straczynski, (World War Z). Sally Hawkins will next be seen inPaddington 2andThe Shape of Water, while Charles Dance is coming off ofGhostbustersandUnderworld: Blood Wars. Hopefully we’ll have more onGodzilla: King of Monsterssoon.
