It has been a while since Godzilla 2 made news. Earlier this year, Gareth Edwards stepped away from the project after he and Legendary Pictures went their separate ways. Edwards has stated that he wanted to do something smaller after he’s done with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, so stepping away from the Godzilla sequel would allow him to do that. Now with Warner Bros. setting up for Kong: Skull Island, they need to start developing Godzilla 2, which would eventually lead up to Godzilla vs King Kong.

It was two years ago that Max Borenstein was reportedly confirmed to write the sequel. Now the film will be getting new writers. According to a new report, Krampus writing duo Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields will now pen the script. More on the story below.

Variety was the first to confirm the news. According to their sources, Legendary “might be preparing to set up a writers room” to further develop their Godzilla-King Kong universe now that they have acquired the rights to Kong from Universal. The idea is to expand the “ecosystem” of giant super-species by using classic monsters like Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah, and creating new ones as well. The eventual Godzilla vs King Kong movie would hit theaters in 2020, which doesn’t leave much room for other films relating to this potential universe. That is unless they want to release those films after 2020.

Of course, such a narrow window may not be a bad thing. If Kong: Skull Island performs below box office expectations, they could shut the door on the writers’ room and reevaluate the situation before diving into Godzilla vs King Kong.

Alex Garcia will oversee the project for Legendary.

Based on earlier reports, we know that Godzilla 2 will include Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah. However, that was when Borenstein was on board. Now that Doughtrey and Shields are taking over, the film could be going through some changes. We’ll just have to wait and see if they will use Borenstein’s work as a foundation, or just start fresh.

Godzilla 2 is scheduled for a March 22, 2019 release.

[Source: Variety]