In 2019, Michael Dougherty directed “Godzilla 2: King of the Monsters”, the third episode of the MonsterVerse. If the feature film already lasts more than two hours, the filmmaker originally wanted to make a 2:45 film!
Godzilla 2: the MonsterVerse thickens
We are in 2019, and Michael Dougherty is in charge of directing Godzilla 2: King of the Monsters. After the first opus was released in 2014 and Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla 2, therefore, stands as the third movie in the MonsterVerseand as the 35th movie Godzilla. As a reminder, the MonsterVerse is a connected universe currently composed of four feature films, produced by Warner Bros and Legendary, which take place in the world of Godzilla and King Kong.
Unfortunately, Godzilla 2: King of the Monsters might look like the worst opus of the MonsterVerse. Poorly received by critics, the film is even Razzie Award nominee in the Worst Suite category. At the box office, the work nevertheless brought in more than 386 million dollars in revenue for a budget of 170 million.
The Dougherty’s Cut?
Definitely, at the moment, the concept of long versions is in vogue in Hollywood. Indeed, with the success of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, there is more and more talk about the director’s cut in Hollywood. Many artists are fighting for their own vision of their film to see the light of day like with the DC film. Godzilla 2: King of the Monsters is no exception to the rule. In effect, Michael Dougherty was forced to cut some elements for his film to be most relevant. With a duration of 2h15, it is ultimately a short version. Michael Dougherty had originally planned a 2:45 film:
The assembly took about 2h40-45 minutes. I called it “Godzilla the mini-series”. There weren’t many whole scenes that were taken out. But a few, and they’ll end up on Blu-ray. Much of the editing involved cutting out moments from each scene. We had a big cast, so there was a tendency to give each character a moment and it all added up.
There are about six to eight whole scenes that were cut. If we were doing Godzilla as a series, these scenes would be great. But when trying to make a movie longer than 2 hours, pacing is a very important consideration. It was too busy. Too much setup. The first act was dragging.
For the moment, there is no question of releasing a director’s cut of Godzilla 2: King of the Monsters. But the idea of producing a series rooted in the MonsterVerse universe is not stupid. Warner and Legendary have teamed up with Apple TV+ to produce a limited and still secret series, linked to the MonsterVerse. Warner is also preparing Godzilla vs. Kong 2. The MonsterVerse, therefore, seems to have a few more good years ahead of it.
