Godzilla: King of the Monsters might not have made the biggest splash in theaters, but we won’t have to wait too long to see how the next MonsterVerse entry does (assuming there’s no delay). Right now, Godzilla vs. Kong is seven months away from release, and by the end of the year, we may know what rating it will receive from the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America).
Director Adam Wingard isn’t particularly concerned on the rating front, but given that the previous three MonsterVerse movies have been rated PG-13, he doesn’t expect Godzilla vs. Kong will be any different. In his words:
I doubt that they'll let me go hard R on that... They just have the precedent of all those films being PG-13, so I'm sure I'll get kind of shoehorned into that.
While certain franchises have made the leap from PG-13 to R, like the X-Men film series did with Deadpool and Logan, it makes sense why the MonsterVerse probably won’t follow suit. While their critical and commercial performances range, these movies are still relatively heavy hitters in the Hollywood sphere, so why mess with that equation?
Still, the prospect of Godzilla and King Kong duking it out with all the gore on full display is an exciting prospect for adult fans of these kinds of monster movies too. That said, as Adam Wingard also mentioned his interview with Gormaru Island, these kinds of action blockbusters need to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, though Wingard also noted the irony of this considering his two favorite movies as a kid were both R-rated. Wingard said:
You know, monster movies need to always be on the edge of being rated R, but ultimately you want it to be able to appeal to kids too. When I say that, it's coming from a guy whose favorite movie as a kid was Aliens and Terminator 2.
I have no doubt that if Godzilla vs. Kong were rated R, plenty of kids would find ways to watch it, some from sneaking into the theater and others by just getting ahold of a home media copy. But as far as ticket sales are concerned, Godzilla vs. Kong is more likely to draw a bigger audience by staying in PG-13 territory rather than taking a risk and making it R, especially at this critical juncture for the MonsterVerse.
As it stands now, Godzilla vs. Kong is the last MonsterVerse installment on the calendar. There have been discussions about future movies and characters that could be introduced, but given how Godzilla: King of the Monsters critically and commercially underperformed, I imagine Warner Bros is waiting to see how Godzilla vs. Kong performs before deciding to move forward, press pause to implement changes or just end things there.
However things turn out, at least fans are finally getting a showdown between Godzilla vs Kong in a Hollywood production. Godzilla vs. Kong’s cast includes Millie Bobby Brown, Kyle Chandler Alexander Skarsgård, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza González, Jessica Henwick, Julian Dennison and Demián Bichir. Terry Rossio wrote the screenplay.
Godzilla vs. Kong rampages into theaters on March 13, 2020, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage, and don’t forget to keep track of everything coming out for the rest of the year with our 2019 release schedule.
