Legendary’s shared universe has taken an appropriately monstrous step forward today, with Variety reporting that not only has the studio welcomed aboard Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields (Krampus) to pen the script for Godzilla 2, but it’s understood the Powers That Be at Legendary are mulling over the idea of establishing a writer’s room to map out the franchise’s future.
Details remain few and far between at the moment, though we understand the idea behind the proposal is to help flesh out the finer details of the upcoming Godzilla-King Kong universe. How effective that strategy proves to be will be told in time, and the only other high-profile writer’s room in the blockbuster space recently set up shop over at Paramount in the name of Transformers. It drafted in some truly top-tier talent, too, including Christina Hodson and Lindsey Beer, Barrer & Ferrari and even The Walking Dead‘s Robert Kirkman, though it’ll be impossible to gauge its success until The Last Knight deploys into theaters next summer.
Variety goes on to note that the creative process, one that has its roots in TV, will begin with Dougherty and Zach Shields’ draft of Godzilla 2. There’s no director attached at the moment, and it appears Legendary will start about its world-building process first before casting the net for a director and cast. The old saying goes that enlisting too many cooks tends to spoil the broth, so let’s just hope the 2019 sequel can buck the trend.
First to tumble off the conveyor belt is Kong: Skull Island. It’ll roar into theaters on March 10, 2017, when Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson and John C. Reilly will be paying a visit to the primordial isle. Godzilla 2 will follow on May 22, 2019, before the main event, Godzilla vs. Kong, opens on May 29th, 2020.