New footage from Godzilla: King of the Monsters shown at CinemaCon features more Titan battles. Warner Bros. has been building the MonsterVerse since 2014 after the release of Godzilla, and now it’s almost time for a true sequel to arrive. The new entry in the franchise is directed by Michael Dougherty, and has been the recipient of some great marketing so far. The studio launched the first trailer to a great response at San Diego Comic-Con last summer, and the good will has only continued since then.
With less than two months to go before King of the Monsters hits theaters, WB is pushing the marketing campaign into high gear. They’ve released numerous TV spots over the last few weeks that have repeatedly teased how the paths of Godzilla, Ghidorah, Mothra, and Rodan will cross in destructive ways. During Warner Bros.’ panel at CinemaCon, they debuted an extended new look at Godzilla: King of the Monsters that packed in even more fights between the classic Toho monsters. Screen Rant’s Rob Keyes was in attendance and here is what he saw.
The footage opened with a shot panning up through water with military ships visible and bombers flying in the red skies above. It cuts to Washington under attack as Rodan flies through the orange clouds overhead. As the erratic behavior of the monsters continues, mass evacuations are being led by the military who are “running out of options and time.” Cue the studio logos of WB and Legendary.
As the footage continues, we see Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) and Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown) leaving the arctic base that has been built around a frozen Ghidorah. Farmiga’s character turns on the Orca, a device capable of communicating with the monsters. It cuts to Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler) and a group of soldiers on the ice where a giant hole is in the location of the base used to be. Orange light is shining out of this hole as a tail with spikes appears, quickly revealing a proper look at the three-headed and two-tailed Ghidorah. The monster roars right before it blasts yellow electricity at nearby soldiers. Cut back to the chopper, and Madison is freaking out, but it’s clear that Emma wanted this to happen. From below the ice, Godzilla arrives to take on Ghidorah, who spreads its giant wings to establish its size. The footage finishes up with a sizzle reel of Emma saying she’s saving the world, Mothra on fire, a bombing of Ghidorah, and more of Godzilla and Ghidorah fighting.
The highlight of the footage is undoubtedly the continued focus on the grand scale and spectacle that Godzilla 2 has. Many of these moments appear to be directly from other scenes in previous trailers and further establish the arctic base and Washington as two of the biggest battles that will take place. Additionally, one quick moment from this and prior footage continue to tease a potentially pivotal scene for Mothra.
One of the other big takeaways from this extended footage we saw is how it elaborates on the actions of Emma Russell. Many had already began to wonder if she was a villainous presence in Godzilla 2, and her appearing to be directly responsible for the release of Ghidorah does back that up. It isn’t clear what she believes she’s saving the world from by releasing all these monsters upon it, but this is what she wants.
Since this footage was shown only at CinemaCon, it’s unclear if WB will release it online at any point. Some of these scenes and moments could be used in future TV spots, but another extended trailer is probably unlikely at this point. With all the positive reactions to this footage and the movie in general, Godzilla: King of the Monsters should be in good position to be a box office hit this summer.
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- Godzilla 2 Release Date: 2019-05-31 Godzilla Vs Kong Release Date: 2021-03-31