Am I the only person who isn’t really interested in non-Godzilla and Kong solo films?

Gojirafan2013

I mean, would they really be that different from the other MonsterVerse films we’ve gotten so far? No matter how unique you make each monsters’ personality, ability, and power level, their films would still revolve around a lead monster fighting another monster or man-made threat with humans following them around, partially dictating the outcome of the fights, or watching from the sidelines. 

I feel that this is the biggest problem with making a shared universe involving giant monsters: how do you make each film stand out from one another, and how do you keep meeting the expectations of a general audience who’s main interest is watching these films for monster fights?

sonictiger

Yeah, it would be great to see some branching out...

G. H. (Gman)

"how do you make each film stand out from one another,"

Answer: Early Showa Era films.

Gojirafan2013

@G. H. (Gman): What made the early Showa Era films stand out from one another? 

G. H. (Gman)

Jack Capellini,
Part of it was the times in that the country had never seen anything like those films before. But what stood out was subject matter pertaining to current events and broad themes. Everyone knows what the original stood for, but then you have Rodan which was a take on PTSD and aerial effects. The Mysterians was an alien invasion movie and one of the first of the genre with a mecha--Less monster movie more science fiction. King Kong vs. Godzilla was a self-aware satire on Japanese television and adopted capitalism--Something that carried over into Mothra which was the real game changer. Suddenly the films were leaning more into fantasy and invited Godzilla into that realm with Ghidorah: The Three Headed Monster, by which time the films had a particular Cold War slant.

Keep in mind a lot of these films weren't directly concerned with monsters fighting monsters, but how everyday people with various jobs (coast guards, scientists, fishermen, coal miners, marketing agents, reporters, detectives, etc) reacted to the appearance of these creatures. This is particularly true for solo monster movies.

Also consider these films weren't trying to build a world, but focus on being the best films possible unto themselves. This allowed for a wider array of tones, atmospheres and topics across multiple movies unconcerned with continuity. When you have the intention of creating a "shared universe" from the get-go you immediately pigeonhole yourself into a tone that every subsequent film must adhere to barring minor variation.