Very minor spoilers for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire lie ahead.
Warner Bros.’ MonsterVerse is known for delivering massive spectacle, which involves plenty of Kaiju-centered action. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, the latest installment in the growing franchise, continues that very trend. However, this entry on the 2024 movie schedule, also does something fresh within this continuity. At times, there are long scenes that involve only the creatures and don’t include any dialogue. It’s an interesting creative decision and, while speaking with CinemaBlend, director Adam Wingard explained how those particular moments came about.
Not only is this Adam Wingard’s second outing in the Blockbuster series following 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong, but he’s also a life-long fan of these gigantic creatures. I say all of that to say that it’s no surprise he had some intriguing ideas going into his work on the massive GxK. When CinemaBlend’s Eric Eisenberg spoke with Wingard, he couldn’t help but ask about the sequences that solely involved the eponymous monsters interacting amongst themselves and with others. Wingard explained that he’s been thinking on this concept for a while and explained that it’s the result of a long-held belief he’s had:
This all comes from my experience of making Godzilla vs. Kong, having gone through the years it takes to make a big monster movie, a big special effects-driven monster movie. I really came away [from] that with the confidence of knowing like, ‘You know what? The special effects are there, the technology is there and the confidence is there.’ And when it comes to making this film, that’s where I want to go. I want to take audiences to a place that I’ve always wanted to see, you know? Like, whenever I was a little kid growing up back in Alabama, preschool days. Whenever I’d watch the Godzilla movies, that was my biggest fantasy is that like, these movies can really hold up for a lot longer with these monsters than I felt like a lot of the filmmakers gave them credit for.
Personally, I agree with the Blair Witch’s director’s assessment that monsters can carry scenes on their own without the presence of human characters. Said moments just have to be orchestrated in organic ways, and that’s the case in the film. One of GxK’s earliest sequences shows Kong hunting for food and, while it delivers action, it also represents the character’s loneliness and mortality. There’s also a sweet bonding moment of sorts that takes place after the gargantuan ape meets Suko (or “mini Kong” as he was called in the Godzilla x Kong trailer.) While speaking with CB, Adam Wingard discussed his excitement over this creative approach and name-dropped another great film that uses non-verbal storytelling:
So, given the opportunity, I knew I wanted to do a film that was really told from the monsters’ POV. And yeah, it was very exciting knowing that we’re going to do all of these sequences that are visual and non-verbal kind of driven. You know, I’ve always loved sequences like There Will Be Blood, like the opening scene of that movie, where I don’t think there’s a line of dialogue for five to eight minutes in that film. And things like that were really inspiring to me, because it’s just very engaging. And, to me, it’s like, ‘Okay, it’s a given you’re gonna do a bunch of monster fights.’ Like, those battle sequences are going to be really fun. But what really excites me are the moments between the battle sequences, when the monsters are kinda in their downtime.
One would hope that the many moviegoers who helped GxK crush at the box office this past weekend appreciate those moments without dialogue. They really do add to the creatures’ characterizations and help audiences identify with them more. Of course, people do want those massive fights as well and, as noted by critics this film has plenty of “rock em, sock em” fun. In CinemaBlend’s The New Empire review, our own Mike Reyes also lauded Adam Wingard and company for going harder and deeper into the weirdness of the MonsterVerse. One would hope that if he gets to make another sequel, Wingard will stick to his principles and deliver more dialogue-less moments as well.
You can check out Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire now, as it’s playing in theaters nationwide. You can also watch past MonsterVerse installments using a Max subscription.
