Godzilla vs. Kong is out in domestic theaters and HBO Max tomorrow and hype levels are at a maximum. After a series of amazing trailers, the film released internationally late last week and is sitting at an impressive 81% on the Tomatometer – by far the highest score that Legendary’s MonsterVerse franchise has ever received.
Right now, there are a bunch of spoilers out there, but I’m staying well away from them until I see it for myself. One notable element about the ending that isn’t a spoiler, though, is that Godzilla vs. Kong has no post-credits scene. This is interesting, too, as while 2014’s Godzilla was also without one, each subsequent MonsterVerse movie has set up a sequel.
In a recent interview, Godzilla vs. Kong co-writer Max Borenstein was asked about the absence and if a stinger was considered, and here’s what he said:
“There was one at some point that everyone had been kind of toying around with… I think it makes sense [one wasn’t included]. This is kind of the culmination of a particular chapter, and whatever may or may not come after it, it’s cool that this feels wrapped up. We certainly toyed around with something.”
My bet is the Legendary are hedging their bets on the future of the MonsterVerse. Of the cinematic universes that followed in the wake of the MCU, this is one of the more successful, but it still never got anywhere near the billion-dollar grosses that the studio probably hoped for. It’s easy to imagine that Legendary might have wanted to close out the universe with Godzilla vs. Kong and go out on something of a high, while also leaving the door open to continue if it happened to be a smash hit.
In any case, it’s already showing great early numbers, though its box office potential is somewhat hobbled by ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and the same day HBO Max release in the US. But by the end of this week, we should have a much better idea of whether or not we’ll be seeing more from the MonsterVerse following Godzilla vs. Kong.