The new Godzilla: King of the Monsters trailer has some cool nods to a couple of genre classics. It’s fair to say America’s first attempt at making a Godzilla movie didn’t go down very well, with Roland Emmerich’s 1998 blockbuster of the same name receiving terrible reviews, and while it turned a profit it wasn’t enough to convince the studio to pursue a sequel. Gareth Edwards’ 2014 Godzilla went over much better, turning the central beast into a terrifying force of nature again and featuring some great set pieces.

The success of Godzilla also laid the foundation for Warner Bros’ burgeoning MonsterVerse - a shared universe of movies that will feature iconic monsters. Kong: Skull Island was the next entry, and the two icons will face off in 2020 for Godzilla Vs Kong. In the meantime, a trailer recently landed for Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which will see the apex predator rise once more to battle Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah. Michael Dougherty (Krampus) takes over the director’s chair from Edwards.

Now ComingSoon has noticed a couple of movie references buried within the Godzilla: King of the Monsters trailer. The first is a nod to John Carpenter’s The Thing, in a shot where a team of soldiers are running towards an Arctic base dubbed Outpost 32; The Thing took place in a scientific research based called Outpost 31.

The second is a shot featuring a temple, and on the side is a statue of Pazuzu, the demon that possesses Regan in The Exorcist.

Dougherty is a self-confessed movie nerd, so it’s not a surprise he’d sneak a couple of references into Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and there will likely be many more in the final movie. The writer/director is also a huge fan of Godzilla and judging by the response to the trailer thus far, the studio made the right call in hiring him for the project. Dougherty has worked primarily in the horror genre for his past directorial work - including cult gem Trick ‘r Treat - but King of the Monsters will be his first tentpole.

Warner Bros is doing a strong job with the MonsterVerse so far, hiring interesting filmmakers and producing genuinely entertaining blockbusters. Godzilla: King of the Monsters looks like it will continue their winning streak, so it will be interesting to see what happens beyond Godzilla Vs Kong in 2020. Sequels to Kong and Godzilla are a given, but the possibility of the MonsterVerse crossing over with Pacific Rim has also been raised.

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Source: ComingSoon

  • Godzilla 2 Release Date: 2019-05-31 Godzilla Vs Kong Release Date: 2021-03-31