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Warner Bros & Legendary Announce Godzilla & King Kong Cinematic Universe

Ever since the announcement of Kong: Skull Island in 2014 at San Diego Comic-Con after the success of Godzilla, there’s one thing I’ve been saying over and over again: there will be a giant monster movie franchise which will pit King Kong vs. Godzilla.

Then we moved a step closer to that reality when Legendary moved Kong: Skull Island from Universal to Warner Bros., where Godzilla is being produced. Now, the studio has officially announced a cinematic franchise that will unite Godzilla, King Kong, and other iconic giant monsters.

Here’s what Legendary CEO, Thomas Tull, said in a statement:

Audiences really responded to Godzilla. Today, I’m excited to reveal that film was only the beginning of an epic new entertainment universe. As a lifelong fan of these characters, I’ve always wanted to see the ultimate showdown, and today we’re pleased to be announcing that and more.

Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros., Kevin Tsujihara, added:

Working with our partners at Legendary, we enjoyed tremendous creative and commercial success with `Godzilla.’ It’s great to be able to revisit these characters and help create a franchise with so many creative possibilities for filmmakers. Fans love these big, globally iconic films and it doesn’t get any bigger than this.

Through their deal with Toho, Legendary not only acquired Godzilla, but also Kaiju monsters, such as Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah, who are expected to appear in Godzilla 2. In theory, each of those monsters could branch off into their own solo films, although I do wonder if anyone is all that interested in seeing a Mothra solo film.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that there’s another giant monster movie being developed at Warners: Meg. I doubt that it will be included within this universe, because Legendary is not co-producing, but I expect that executives may be thinking about it. What else does the WB have in their archives? How about Them!, the giant ant movie from the 1950's?

What’s really interesting is that the human organization Monarch, which was introduced in Godzilla, will “expand their mission across multiple releases.” I suspect that we’ll get a film centered around Monarch after Godzilla vs. King Kong, that will have the orginization trying to take down a MUTO all on their own.

Kong: Skull Island will premiere in theaters October 19, 2017 followed by Godzilla 2 on June 8, 2018. Godzilla Vs. King Kong will hit the multiplex in 2020.