The first trailer for Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire is expected to debut during CCXP later today, and the first official promo stills for Adam Wingard's MonsterVerse sequel are now online (via IGN).
The images spotlight a slightly miffed-looking Kong wielding his club, some of the movie's human characters, and the King of the Monsters frozen in ice.
We're not sure exactly what's going on with Godzilla here, but it sounds like he is in some sort of hibernation or chrysalis-like state, and Wingard mentions that he is "evolving into a powerful new form."
"The skills that it takes to create a giant monster movie are so specific that you have to learn them, and only at the end of production was I like, 'Oh wait, now I know,'" Wingard explained. "I had all these different ideas of what I would do next time and how I could improve upon it."
"So much of the film is entirely animated CG shots; so much of it is just pure imagination," the director added. "We have some sequences going up to about eight minutes long, where it's just the monsters doing their thing, and so the movie really allows the monsters to tell their own narrative in a visual, nonverbal way."
As for the movie's title, Wingard says a team-up between the two former enemies was always the plan.
"As soon as the [last] movie came out and the audiences started to see it, I was like, 'You just can't separate these two guys again.' It's too exciting having them in one movie. And now, the next one has to be about the continuation of that relationship, which is going to be the team-up."
Check out the stills at the link below.
Rebecca Hall (Dr. Ilene Andrews), Brian Tyree Henry (Bernie Hayes) and Kaylee Hottle (Jia) will reprise their roles from the previous movie, but Millie Bobby Brown and Alexander Skarsgård will not be back, with Legion alum Dan Stevens taking over as the main protagonist. Fala Chen, Alex Ferns and Rachel House also joined the cast.
Wingard will collaborate once more with production designer Tom Hammock, editor Josh Schaeffer, and composer Tom Holkenborg. Terry Rossio is back on script duties, along with Jeremy Slater and Wingard's frequent collaborator Simon Barrett.
"This latest entry follows up the explosive showdown of Godzilla vs. Kong with an all-new cinematic adventure, pitting the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence – and our own. The epic new film will delve further into the histories of these Titans, their origins and the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond, while uncovering the mythic battle that helped forge these extraordinary beings and tied them to humankind forever."
Principal photography commenced in Gold Coast, Queensland, on July 29, 2022, and officially wrapped last November. The film is scheduled to be theatrically released on April 12, 2024 after previously being slated for a March 15, 2024.