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Adam Wingard is buzzing.
Badass red-ape titan Skar King!
All-new images of Hollow Earth!
Godzilla boasting a makeover colour scheme!
Kong sporting a freaking bionic arm!
For me, the starting point for this movie was that shot of them running into battle together.
That was the very first image that I really had of this movie.
Thats where you want to end up.
The story begins just a little down the line from where 2021s Godzilla vs. Kong concluded.
Godzilla kind of tells him, All right, Ill let you go this time.
So what disturbs the peace this time out?
And he seems to have an army of titanic primates at his bidding.
So what else do we know?
Not a military vet a veterinarian.
Hes a specialist in these creatures.
If youve got a sick titan, Trap is your guy.
Hes the sort of guy you want on a mission like this.
Hes not fazed by much.
Hes got this wonderful sense of awe.
Hes a man of nature.
He really feels at one with the cosmos, whether its above ground or in Hollow Earth.
Wingard tugs at his beard.
The glove Kong is wearing, its somewhat insinuated thats Apex technology.
We meet Trapper being extremely up close with Kong, adds Stevens.
So for that sequence, they had a giant piece of Kongs…
I was going to say a giant piece of Kongs anatomy, but that sounds really wrong.
They had a real bit of Kong that I had to interact with.
That was kind of wild.
The human storyline is all in one place this time, says Hall.
Andrews recruits [his character] to help with something.
And working with Dan is a blast for me, one of my favourite things to do.
We were at college together.
Stevens is laughing again.
We were friends, and then roommates after university, so we go way back.
I hope viewers feel that.
Theres a bit of history there, between our characters.
Its an old friendship, though its alluded to there was possibly something else, at some point.
But now theyre having an opportunity to work together.
Doing what, exactly?
Its one big adventure.
Youll just have to wait and see, shrugs Stevens.
I cant tell you much more, apologises Hall.
Wingard, at least, offers a few crumbs.
This is very much a kitchen-sink Hollow Earth experience, he says.
We take you all over.
You see all different types of environments, and lots of new creatures and some familiar ones.
At the same time, we still manage to get around a lot on the surface.
We have scenes in Rio and Rome.
The film still has this big, international feel.
We cover a lot of ground.
Im an adult being able to play with hundreds of millions of dollars.
Well, now hes doubling down…
There was just this orgasmic feeling.
So many colours and textures.
Thats what I wanted to bring to this movie.
This new, heightened reality.
But then I didnt get a chance at doing my version of Godzilla.
So now I wanted to do different things with the spines, and try different colours.
I didnt want it to just be random; its part of the story.
And similarly with Kong, I wanted to give him some sort of new look as well.
We grew his beard out, and gave him a little bit more grey hair and stuff.
The environments in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire will really pop.
Literally we shot where the road ends in northern Australia.
In the last film we had the HEAV, the Hollow Earth Aerial Vehicle.
In this one we updated it so it breaks apart into 14 pieces.
We could crane it into a remote riverbed in the middle of the jungle and reassemble it.
That way you might have characters exit the spaceship and walk fully around it then enter Hollow Earth.
It was not easy!
You know its an interesting day at work when theres a snake handler, shudders Hall.
Someone was literally going through the woods to double-check it was clear of any deadly animals.
We went to the Daintree Rainforest, which is one of the oldest rainforests on the planet.
The leaves were straight out of dinosaur times.
They had cassowaries, which are the closest relative to dinosaurs.
Theyre amazing-looking things massive emu-like birds with blue heads, and theyre very violent during mating season.
We were given a warning: Dont look them in the eye, because they will charge you.
Stevens takes up the story.
We were surrounded by cassowaries and crocodiles and pythons.
A crocodile took them off, and they never saw them again.
Youre like, That happened right over there?
Were shooting right over here.
But thats the fun of it.
Until somebody gets hurt, youre all good.
Do the aforementioned Rio and Rome get a good stomping?
Absolutely, says Wingard.
You see Godzilla and Kong destroy major landmarks.
Thats how Godzilla and King Kong pay homage to the greatest places on the planet, you know?
You should only be so lucky to have your city destroyed by Godzilla.
We really get to go there on this one.
Hammock is again keen to stress that reality plays a big part.
You thought these MonsterVerse movies were all CGI?
Were trying to follow in the footsteps of Bond or Mission: Impossible, he says.
That commitment continued on this film.
Beasts in show
But now for the main event.
It even extends to the actors.
Then she adds: Its heartfelt but it doesnt take itself too seriously.
We understand that the monsters having a big old battle is part of the fun.
Its a theme that Stevens takes up.
Theyre about two characters that are many times the size of me.
Theres a lot of weight riding on it, he continues.
I call it a creative arms race.
Were always in ascent towards the ultimate goal of complete photorealism.
Coming from animation, he says, creatures are very cool, very complex.
Sometimes in visual effects, we focus too much on the technical side.
We forget the story.
We are at the service of the story.
When he goes into a city and creates havoc and destruction, it’s crucial that you sell that.
Imagine the size of this foot stomping on the ground.
You see a wave of debris rippling through.
The nuances of colour.
The tongue, the gums.
We need to have those details.
Hes a bit more rigid.
Kong is very agile.
Godzilla is more like [makes lumbering movement].
We have this big tail that goes around.
I mean, my dog creates havoc just with his little tail.
And then you have to ensure that the battles are exciting, dynamic, and really portray the scale.
Ah, the battles.
So what can Wingard tell us about this new fearsome foe?
The trailer doesnt tell us about why Skar King is this world-ending threat, he starts.
Theres a lot of mystery to be uncovered yet.
I would say Skar King is the greatest threat that weve seen in these movies.
We go bigger on this one, he promises.
This movie is high-octane.
I cant believe everything weve packed in.
Weve got some set-pieces, like… His eyes saucer.
We are breaking new ground with visual effects in terms of non-verbal storytelling.
Its not like youre sitting there trying to figure out, OK, what are they thinking?
What are they doing?
These monsters are emotive.
His passion is palpable.
That is the movie I wanted to see when I was a kid.
When youre a kid, you barely even understand some of the human subplots.
But when the monsters are fighting each other, you understand their alliances.
You understand Godzilla and Mothras relationship.
You understand Godzilla and Ghidorahs relationship.
Your imagination is interfacing with the movie.
Maybe Ill do another one, or maybe not.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire opens in cinemas on March 29.
For moreupcoming movies, check out our guide to2024 movie release dates.
This article first appeared in Total Film issue 346 -buy a copy here.
