You might not think of Godzilla and Kong as emotional characters, but Adam Wingard wants to change all that.
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Wingard is in charge of the big monster showdown Godzilla vs Kong, and as he explained to ScreenCrush, he’s aiming to deliver a little something different.
“Some of those Godzilla movies I haven’t seen since I was a kid so revisiting them was a lot of fun. To be able to almost go back in time and re-experience what that was like – I was able to directly empathize with that feeling when I really felt like, maybe Godzilla really is going to lose in this movie,” Wingard said. “That was really important because it helped me remember, going forward on [Godzilla vs. King Kong], the kind of feelings people are going to have when they watch it.”
Wingard wants audiences to really empathize with these creatures, just as they would with anyone else.
“That’s what I want to do, I really want you to take those characters seriously,” Wingard added. “I want you to be emotionally invested, not just in the human characters, but actually in the monsters. If I had my way, I want people to really be teary-eyed at the end of the movie, and be that invested into what’s going on.”
One of the best parts of Kong: Skull Island was that very concept. Without a line of dialogue, Kong was able to become a full-fledged character despite the fantastical circumstances and surroundings. That said, there will be plenty of action to go around.
“It’s a massive monster brawl movie,” Wingard said. “There’s lots of monsters going crazy on each other, but at the end of the day I want there to be an emotional drive to it. I want you to be emotionally invested in them. I think that’s what’s going to make it really cool.”
Godzilla vs. Kong currently enjoys a 3.39 out of 5 on ComicBook.com’s anticipation rankings. Godzilla 2 hits theaters on March 22, 2018, while Godzilla vs Kong is slated for May 29, 2020.
