LOS ANGELES ā The original 1950s Godzilla movies stomped into theaters carrying a metaphor about nuclear destruction. Two years ago, āGodzilla: King of the Monstersā sounded alarms about climate change.
But donāt fret about finding a message amid the mayhem as the towering radioactive lizard clashes with that instantly-recognizable giant ape in "Godzilla vs. Kong," debuting Wednesday.
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"Itās about two big guys bashing each other around," laughed actor Rebecca Hall, who plays a researcher studying King Kong. "There is a sense that the less that humans meddle with stuff, the better, is a general theme.
āBut yeah, itās mostly a big fight," she said.
Director Adam Wingardās clash of the titans caps Legendary Entertainmentās āMonsterverseā series, which includes 2014ā²s āGodzillaā and 2017ā²s āKong: Skull Island.ā While not all were winners with critics, theyāve grabbed plenty of cash at the box office ā more than $1.4 billion worldwide.
All four films take their central creatures seriously ā both within the stories and by pouring money into nuanced special effects ā while often winking at audiences with self-aware references. The films have featured performances from top-caliber actors enjoying the silliness of it all: Bryan Cranston, Ken Watanabe, Tom Hiddleston, John C. Reilly, Sally Hawkins, Vera Farmiga.
In the newest entry, the returning Millie Bobby Brown and Kyle Chandler are joined by Hall, Alexander SkarsgĆ„rd, Brian Tyree Henry and Eiza GonzĆ”lez, among others. No matter the scene, the actors always knew who was filling the top spots on call sheets during production ā Godzilla and King Kong.
āTheyāre divas, thatās whatās so difficult. You go on to set, they donāt look at you in the eye. It is in their contracts. Whatever. I found it really difficult to work with specifically Kong, just because he thought he ruled the roost,ā cracked Brown. āYou just want your close-up. And Zilla is like ārawrā and youāre like, āBro, calm down.āā
Wingard said he focused on keeping the humans āas close together as possibleā with the monsters throughout his film, including an āE.T.ā-evoking moment with deaf actor Kaylee Hottle.
But when the titular showdowns start, āit was really important to me to do what the original films did. Like if you look at all the Showa-era films, when the monster battles happened, it just stays with the monsters. ... We wanted to make sure the monsters were able to do their thing and just get into it.ā
That includes a fight on and underneath an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean, with Kong struggling and Godzilla moving smoothly and realistically through water. Later, shattering neon highlights an eye-popping clash among and through the skyscrapers of a heavily-stylized Hong Kong.
Skarsgard, whose character leads a human team following Kong to the filmās most fantastical location, said Wingardās approach was to āreally lean into the craziness of it. And his take on it was, well, if youāre going to go big, go really big. Go crazy, letās have fun with it, we havenāt seen these titans go toe-to-toe in 50 years, 60 years. So letās really enjoy this.ā
Godzillaās atomic breath and Kongās chest-thumping were crafted for maximum sensory impact, but viewers can also see it on the small screen. A pandemic-disrupted rollout has the film debuting Wednesday both at theaters and on streaming service HBO Max. The filmās stars say theyāre just happy to share the spectacle, whether itās on an IMAX or iPhone screen.
āThese are extraordinary times that demand extraordinary measures,ā said DemiĆ”n Bichir, who plays an overreaching tech mogul. āThis is one of those films that will be seen in every corner of the planet. And that alone makes me very, very happy.ā
Henry, the āAtlantaā series star who plays a conspiracy-theorizing podcast host, said the filmās extravagance feels right for this moment in the pandemic.
āPeople need something to just like celebrate and cheer and have fun and see millions of dollars of special effects,ā he said. āItās like we shifted what we do in summer blockbusters to the spring because itās like we just need something to break out, something to have fun with.ā
Legendary and distributor Warner Bros havenāt announced any future "Monsterverse" installments after "Godzilla vs. Kong." Wingard said heād be happy to return to a āphase twoā of the franchise, envisioning a ānearly silent film where we just watch the monsters do their thing."
āThere are enough characters that are well-enough defined where we can imprint whatever we want on them,ā he said. āI think audiences are ready. And I think the special effects world is up-to-date to be able to handle that."
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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Ryan Pearson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryanwrd