It was recently announced that Legendary Pictures had hired Krampus screenwriters Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields to replace Max Borenstein on writing duties for the upcoming Godzilla 2.

This move was reportedly part of Legendary’s strategy to establish a creative brain trust that will chart the giant monster shared universe they have been developing at Warner Bros., with next March’s Kong: Skull Island set to be the next step in bringing the two iconic beasts together in a Godzilla vs. King Kong feature presently penciled in for a 2020 release.

Now Britt Hayes at Screen Crush has revealed that on top of his confirmed assignment as co-writer of the sequel to the 2014 monster mash smash directed by Gareth Edwards, Dougherty is currently rumored to be in line to direct it as well! He must be pretty popular over at Legendary since the company produced his first two features, the beloved cult horror films Trick ‘r Treat and the aforementioned Krampus. Dougherty would be the latest director to make the jump from smaller genre entries to big-budget studio blockbusters.

Edwards was previously supposed to return for Godzilla 2, but he has since left the high-profile sequel as he had expressed the desire to make a smaller film after completing the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

If the rumor of Dougherty’s hiring to direct as well as co-write the sequel turns out to be true, audiences who thought there was enough monstrous mayhem in Edwards’ reboot could be in for a real treat. Legendary intends to unleash a bunch of Godzilla’s classic screen adversaries (such as Rodan and Mothra) as well as create their own colossal creatures for the Big G to oppose in future sequels, and Dougherty has demonstrated an infectious passion for terrifying monsters brought to life on celluloid through the finest practical effects his budget could afford.

As much as I loved Edwards’ movie, Godzilla 2 could be even better with Michael Dougherty in the director’s chair.

Godzilla 2 – name subject to change – is scheduled to open in theaters on March 22, 2019.

[Source: Screen Crush]