SDCC 2017

While I don't want to sound like a negative nancy here, I wouldn't hold my breath nor would I be disappointed if something Godzilla related doesn't happen at SDCC 2017. The chances are slim to none on Godzilla vs Kong being announced at the event, but there is a slight possibility that something might happen with Godzilla fathom 2019 at the event.

Right now, there's no real confirmation on anything Godzilla related happening at the event, besides Twitter's Kong Skull Island page announcing Kong will be at the event, but there could be a number of reasons why. It could be an announcement of a sequel film, it could be the director coming out to thank everyone for making the film a success, etc. 

Although if something does happen at the event mentioning something of these future Kaiju films, my bet would be some teaser posters at the most. I still think it's way too early for any trailer to pop up, but then again, I don't work for these companies. We'll see soon I guess. Like I said, not going to be disheartened or feel like crap if nothing happens. 

I don't think GKOTM is going to be in SDCC, its to early. 

Not really TherizinoRex, they had a trailer for this movie over a year ago. It's about time we get a poster or at least another trailer. 

^

Fair point, If its a trailer then they better release it online(They did it with Suicide Squad movie, so yea).

I hope that there is something, but I'm not holding my breath.

Kong: Skull Island will be making an appearance at SDCC in the form of a Skull Island experience. Likely it's to push the DVD/Blu-ray release:

Kong: Skull Island Experience Heading to Comic-Con

Anything else will either be a surprise or very small. It's likely Legendary doesn't have anything ready for either Godzilla 2 or Godzilla vs. Kong so they're pushing Skull Island to keep the MonsterVerse in people's minds.

G. H. (Gman),

Got a question for you. How likely that a KSI sequel will be confirmed to be in development at the SDCC?

Willnotbenamed,
I think anything of that nature will depend on the success of Godzilla 2 and Godzilla vs. Kong.

Also, Wanda, the Chinese conglomerate that now owns Legendary Pictures, was just restricted to completing some form of overseas deals with Legendary. It's unclear how or if this will affect future productions from Legendary, MonsterVerse or otherwise, but it could be a potential roadblock post-Godzilla vs. Kong: China Blocks Dalian Wanda from Completing Overseas Deals: Report

Also the deal with Universal that allowed WB and Legendary to use Kong is a bit hazy. The King of the Monsters probably knows and/or could speculate more on the topic, but it's always possible that Universal gave WB/Legendary Kong as a one-and-done deal--At least in terms of solo flicks. We just don't know how much power Universal has over the character since Kong's rights are a bit cloudy--At least to me.

But under normal circumstances, I'd say a Skull Island sequel would be a done deal. A character-franchise launch of $566 million world wide is a pretty significant sign of a moneymaking series, especially when you consider some early Marvel movies, like Captain America, made around $150-200 million less. I'd love to hear about a Skull Island sequel announcement, but right now all eyes will be on 2020 for his next big screen event. Any thing else might be seen as a distraction from that.

G. H. (Gman),

Thanks

Actually I'm not so sure there will be anything after GvK, as Toho just recently said that they couldn't make any movies until after 2020, Idk why but that's what they said. 

Toho said they couldn't make a sequel or any live action follow up until after 2020 due to the deal they have with Legendary which prohibits two live action Godzilla movies being in production at the same time. The reason Shin Godzilla was made was because there was a gap of time Toho took advantage of where they were able to put a Godzilla film in production. It seems that during that time, Legendary was not permitted to put Godzilla 2 in production since Shin Godzilla was filming. Now the reverse is happening. Toho can not put a Shin Godzilla sequel in production because both Godzilla 2 and Godzilla vs. Kong will be filming for the next two years.

Apparently this either doesn't apply to animated films since Godzilla: Monster Planet is coming out--Although since that movie is being produced by Polygon Pictures, it's likely their deal doesn't apply to Legendary.

Shin is one of my all time favorite Godzilla films, so I am looking forward to see what they put out next. Hopefully Legendary leaves enough space for them to put out another good film.

You say, "why else would Kong be at SDCC", but Godzilla had a comic con panel for 2014.

Godzilla had a small panel as a thank you to fans. Skull Island might have the same thing, but I'm of the mind it's going to be at SDCC to push the Blu-ray release since it just came out.

I've heard this "monarch sighting" thing they have going on will reveal a photo that is a "monsterverse expansion." No idea what that could mean.

I'm personally hoping that SDCC 2017 will unveil an official coining of the MonsterVerse. Obviously, viewers know it's a thing, and the marketing has been making it clearer bit by bit, but it's not officially "THIS IS THE MONSTERVERSE, EVERYONE!" like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, at least in spirit.

Maybe alongside the Kong: Skull Island stuff, Legendary will announce that the MonsterVerse as a whole is taking off and is now a thing to watch alongside the MCU and DCEU.

^

Same

Regarding the anime films, I think technically Polygon isn't producing the film per se, they're just handling the animation. Toho Animation is technically being credited as the company producing it. I suppose it means Toho is handling all aspects of the production outside of the animation itself. The fact that the films are animated gives me the impression that they're the result of Toho essentially exercising a loophole in their contract with Legendary. Toho wants to capitalize on the success of Shin Godzilla, but can't produce another live-action film until 2020. It's a somewhat clever move on their part.

In regards to the whole legal debacle surrounding Kong, I',m not sure if Universal and Legendary signed some kind of formal deal, or if Uuniversal just sort of let Legendary go through with putting Kong in the MonsterVerse since the companies are production partners currently and have plenty of other projects up and coming together. Universal's "ownership" of Kong is pretty loose, and they aren't able to license the character the same way Toho or Kadokawa would Godzilla or Gamera. I'm not completely clear on how the Kong situation really shakes down, and there are others online who are much better informed on it than I, but the impression I get is that Universal is just letting Legendary do as they please with Kong, knowing actual legal negotiations over the character rights would get messy and probably not be worth it, and expecting a return on investment through their future endeavors with Legendary. Warner Bros. themselves have some kind of claim on Kong as well, owning the rights to the 1933 original and Son of Kong at least in North America, and having distributed the 1976 remake on DVD as well. WB also released all three animated Kong films, for whatever that's worth. I'm sure Universal has gotten paid for Legendary's moving of the project in some way, but probably not in some formal licensing deal. I haven't seen Universal credited in any way in any Kong: Skull Island releases or merchandise.

Sorry if that was kind of off-topic, but I was just trying to offer my input.

The King of the Monsters,
Thanks for adding your take.

Hi guys, I have a question for those who may be in the know. Sorry if this is off-topic from SDCC, but since you guys are discussing Kong and the rights around him and all, I wanted to ask: Is there a legal reason that the full name "King Kong" never seems to be used for the MonsterVerse stuff?

I can't help but notice that the title of the new Kong movie is just "Kong", no "King Kong". Likewise, throughout the movie, characters only ever call him "Kong". He's called a "king" and such a few points, but at no point are the two words ever used together, and no one ever calls him "King Kong" in the whole movie. Similarly, I know it's still in early pre-production and all, but from everything I've seen and heard, the upcoming rematch film is always called "Godzilla vs Kong", again, it's like they're avoiding using the full name of "King Kong". Is there a reason for this that anyone knows of, or am I just reading way too much into it all?

Universal has a weird way of letting you use their characters without a major deal.

For instance, when Hotel Transylvania was made (you know, that comedy animation by Sony Pictures?), Universal let them use their monsters on really weird stipulations such as Frankenstein not being able to have his metal screws on his neck, Frankenstein's Bride not being able to have the lightning bolt streak in her hair, and Dracula not being able to have the classic Dracula haircut. There were more, but that gives you the basic idea.

Not naming the character "KING Kong" might be another weird rule put on by Universal. Only time will tell, however.

Hmm, thanks NateZilla. It sounds like Universal can be almost as anal/protective about things as Toho themselves (almost)!

I guess it will be very interesting to see if Kong is ever upgraded to "King Kong" at any point later on or not.

Legendary has used the name "King Kong" in marketing for the film, just not to a great extent. Obviously the film is just called Kong: Skull Island and the character is just referred to as "Kong" in dialogue, but he is rarely if ever called "King Kong" by characters in any of the American films. The Japanese version of the film is titled "King Kong: Giant God of Skull Island" and all of the Japanese marketing elects to call him by his full name of "King Kong".

Some of the American marketing for the MonsterVerse still calls him "King Kong" though. Legendary's press releases for the Skull Island: The Birth of Kong comic refer to it as "the story of King Kong," and one of the tracks on the film's soundtrack is called "King Kong." The FunKo Pop! vinyl figure of Kong from the film is also called "King Kong" (it has a "tm" symbol next to it also, which is odd because I am unsure who, if anyone, actually owns the trademark to Kong's name). Not to mention, the film and marketing also tend to frequently refer to Kong as a "king."

There may very well be some weird thing with Universal that prevents Legendary and WB from using "King Kong" prominently in the titles or marketing from the film, but it's also possible Legendary is just trying to set their Kong films apart from previous ones by avoiding using "King Kong" in the titles. Skull Island is meant to be the story of "how Kong became King," so it's possible he hadn't yet earned the full title of "King Kong."

Warner Bros. just finished their panel at SDCC. Apart from a clip of G'14 during a montage of WB's "best blockbusters", the MonsterVerse was not mentioned.

What we got as far as Godzilla/Monsterverse stuff is about what I expected. I'm still disappointed that we got no PR2 trailer. I know the director says it's not ready, but they should have had the forethought to be ready. A Comic-Con reveal gets your movie's name in the head of a lot of people and the teaser we did get was weak.

King of the Monsters - thanks for the extra info! I am very curious to see if they'll ever call him "King Kong" in the movies, maybe once he grows some more and is a match for Godzilla? Or if it just a weird legal thing, I suppose we'll all just have to wait and see.

And I agree, it seems kind of lame there's pretty much nothing about the MonsterVerse at the con, or even much for the upcoming Pacific Rim sequel. It comes out in barely half a year, this would have been the perfect time to debut a (real) trailer or some footage. And Pacific Rim is on even shakier ground than the MonsterVerse, they could have really used the boost. Too bad.

^There was the Skull Island walkthrough. The MonsterVerse did make a prominent appearance, it was simply for a movie that's been released and not an announcement at a panel.

I think that the reason why toho is very picky about what other people do with godzilla is because of 1998

^Mostly that. Past dealings with distributors probably factor in to it as well.

Well whatever is shown at comic-con I hope it creates great forums such as these. Maybe a teaser trailer or poster. Maybe a monster design. Or roars from the monsters. And hopefully another Monarch timeline event. I never went to a comic-con before so I'm not ever sure of what to expect.