Bad news for fans of the Big G, better known as Godzilla: The sequel to Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla reboot has been pushed back nine months, with a new release date of March 22, 2019 set by Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. The “kaijuniverse” follow-up, Godzilla vs. Kong, has also been pushed back, to a prospective opening on May 29, 2020, according to Coming Soon.
Godzilla roared back into cinemas in fairly satisfying fashion in 2014, in a film with spectacular monster action but predictably cardboard human characters. It made bank at the box office to the tune of $529 million, making a sequel inevitable. The film was also notable as the first truly big budget production for director Edwards, who was riskily handed a $160 million budget primarily on the strength of his 2010 indie sci-fi film Monsters. Two years later, he’s now a big deal, the director of the upcoming Star Wars spin-off Rogue One. One hopes he won’t get too wrapped up in Star Wars mania to return and fulfill is Godzilla vision.
And if you’re disappointed to see the giant monster action get pushed back, you can at least take some solace in the fact that Pacific Rim 2 is still scheduled for Dec. 31, 2018, slightly closer.