Multiple sources are reporting that Sam Neill (Jurassic Park; Thor: Ragnarok; Peaky Blinders) has joined the cast of Legendary's next MonsterVerse installment, the tentatively titled Godzilla x Kong 3.
Plot details are being kept strictly under wraps for now, but the studio has teased that the new film, which is being helmed by Grant Sputore, will follow “several new human characters alongside the beloved and iconic Titans Godzilla and Kong as they face off against a cataclysmic world-ending threat.”
It's up for debate what that cataclysmic world-ending threat could be, but the previous film's director Adam Wingard teased last year that, if he were to direct the next film, Destoroyah might be in the cards. Speaking with Discussing Film, he said,
"I’ll say this, one of my top Godzilla movies is Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. The reason it’s one of my favorite films is I don’t think any other Godzilla movie, maybe outside of Minus One and the 1954 original, has ever hit such emotional highs. The ending of that film, when Godzilla Jr. dies and, subsequently, Godzilla [frick]ing melts to death, is so poignant and also beautiful in the way that they do it. The first time I saw it, it brought tears to my eyes. And part of that is thanks to Akira Ifukube’s grand score that plays in that scene.
It’s crazy because you look at [Godzilla vs. Destoroyah], and it’s a very high-end version of having a guy in a Godzilla suit. I would say it’s probably the peak of it because I don’t think it’s been matched in terms of that version — the quality and the scale of having Godzilla brought to life through an actor in a suit. But that’s the thing for me, if I were going to do another one of these films, I would want to hit that kind of emotional resonance with Godzilla as a character this time. That’s what I’ll say for now.”
Neill joins a star cast that features Kaitlyn Dever (Booksmart; Dopesick; Unbelievable), Jack O’Connell (Unbroken; ’71; Godless), Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods; The Harder They Fall; The Good Fight), Matthew Modine (Full Metal Jacket; Stranger Things; Oppenheimer), Alycia Debnam-Carey (Fear the Walking Dead; The 100; Saint X), and Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey; Legion; Beauty and the Beast).
Dever will headline the human cast, with O'Connell playing her brother and Stevens reprising his role from the previous film, where he played a veterinarian named Trapper.
Grant Sputore (I Am Mother; The Furnace; We Bury the Dead) is directing, with a screenplay from Godzilla (2014) scribe David Callaham (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse; Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings; Mortal Kombat).
The 2x Primetime Emmy-nominated actor is, of course, best known for his iconic role as Dr. Sam Neill in Universal's blockbuster Jurassic franchise, a role he originated in 1993's Jurassic Park, and reprised in 2001's Jurassic Park III, and 2022's Jurassic World Dominion.
He also played Actor Odin for Marvel Studios in Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder.
Neill was most recently seen in the series Apples Never Fall and The Twelve, but his more prominent credits, include, but are not limited to, Peaky Blinders, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Invasion, Peter Rabbit, The Commuter, Escape Plan, The Vow, The Tudors, Wimbledon, The Zookeeper, and Memoirs of an Invisible Man.
Godzilla x Kong 3 is set to hit theaters March 26, 2027!