Chances are good Adam Wingard will get to helm a third installment in the MonsterVerse and the director already knows what he wants to do. Incidentally, his aspiration will serve as wish fulfillment for fans demanding one crucial thing these past few years.
Wingard explained in a chat with Discussing Film that his dream is to rival one of his favorite Godzilla films. Although he hails the Showa era and Godzilla vs. Hedorah as an experimental achievement, he has a soft spot for the Heisei period and the movie that closed out that phase.
“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,” Wingard said.
“The ending of that film, when Godzilla Jr. dies and, subsequently, Godzilla 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,” he continued.
“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,” he added.
“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,” he said.
Wingard sounds like he is fixed on making his next effort a Godzilla-centric film this time if it happens. That’s good news when he has been a secondary character in his movies twice despite getting the top billing.
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But there is an even more exciting possibility at play here when name-dropping Destoroyah. Fans have been wanting to see Heisei’s final boss in the MonsterVerse since King of the Monsters came out, and they are construing Wingard’s remarks as possible confirmation.
Wingard opens the door a crack for the shapeshifting crustacean when he talks about a deep emotional admiration for the movie in which the monster was the villain. If he is serious about rivaling that, the easiest way to do so is by utilizing some of its elements, starting with Destoroyah himself.
The steps to introduce him are already in place. The Oxygen Destroyer was unleashed in KOTM and The Hollow Earth’s topsy-turvy sci-fi physics sets a precedent for excuses as to how Destoroyah’s evolutionary biology can work in the MonsterVerse.
The only question left is if Toho will let Wingard and Legendary at the character. The Japanese studio proved they are willing to loan out Mothra, Mechagodzilla, Ghidorah, and Rodan so a request for something else shouldn’t require begging and pleading.
And based on other comments Wingard made, the only asset Toho is keen on protecting at any cost is the big radioactive dinosaur himself.
“They’re watching out for him,” Wingard told The Hollywood Reporter. “They’re making sure you’re not doing anything that’s ultimately out of character, even though the MonsterVerse version of Godzilla is very different [from] the Minus One or especially the Shin Godzilla, which is a very different character.”
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