"Krampus" helmer Michael Dougherty has now been tapped to direct "Godzilla 2" with his scripting partner Zach Shields. He will move from one monster to the next.
According to Variety, at first, Dougherty and his "Krampus" co-writer Shields would be penning the "Godzilla 2." Now, he would also helm the pic. After months of work in the writers' room, Legendary eventually extended an offer for him to direct as well.
"Godzilla" director Gareth Edwards was originally planned to return for the follow-up "Godzilla 2," IGN reported. However, he left last year. He recently helmed "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," starring Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso and Diego Luna as Cassian Andor.
Legendary made a joint announcement with Warner Bros. in October 2015 that it will develop all future "King Kong" and "Godzilla" films along with Warner Bros. for distribution, starting with "Kong: Skull Island" in March. It currently holds a distribution deal with Universal.
However, in order to re-team "Godzilla" and "King Kong," Legendary decided to send the rights back over to Warner Bros. to be able to create this own monster universe of giant super-species, both classic and new. It has planned a re-team of the two famed monsters for "Godzilla vs. Kong" in 2020.
The "Godzilla 2" is now called "Godzilla: King of Monsters" and will be a throwback to the original franchise. However, there is still no news on the story yet, and no cast has been set at this point.
Dougherty has strong ties to Legendary. He had written and directed "Trick 'r Treat," which is one of the Legendary's first productions and has become a cult hit. He then teamed with Shields on the recent Christmas horror pic "Krampus." He is represented by WME and Circle Confusion and also co-wrote "X2" and "Superman Returns."
"Godzilla 2" is currently set to arrive on March 22, 2019, with "Godzilla vs. Kong" will follow on May 29, 2020. Alex Garcia will oversee the project for Legendary.
Watch the video about "Godzilla 2" getting "Krampus" director:
