If you stayed until the end of the Kong: Skull Island closing credits, you will have seen an enticing little scene that apparently cues up the next film in the fledgeling MonsterVerse series.
And if you missed it, allow us to enlighten you with a little bit of help from the film’s director, Jordan Vogt-Roberts, who we spoke to ahead of the film’s release. But be warned that SPOILERS follow…
It’s dark. Tom Hiddleston’s Conrad seems to allude to the fact that we’re all sitting in a dark room, which grabs the audience’s attention in a near fourth-wall break. “You’re enjoying this aren’t you?” he says. “I promise I won’t tell.”
At which point it’s revealed that he’s sitting with Brie Larson’s character Mason Weaver in an office, talking to a mirror.
It seems to be a de-briefing; or a briefing, even. San (Tian Jing) and Brooks (Corey Hawkins) enter. They’re representatives of Monarch, the secretive government organisation behind the expedition to Skull Island depicted in the film.
Brooks explains that these creatures have been around for a long time, and cautions that humanity needs to be ready for when these monsters decide they want to take the planet back. It’s apparent that Kong is not the only king. “This is just the beginning,” comes the warning.
They – and, in turn, we – are then shown drawings of other monstrous creatures. We’ve identified them as classic Toho beasts Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Mothra and Rodan. The screen then cuts to black and a roar resounds.
So, are we likely to see these fearsome behemoths in the next MonsterVerse movie slated for release in 2019, Godzilla: King of the Monsters? Perhaps. It would seem fitting that in order to be crowned King of the Monsters, Godzilla would need to prove his worth – by defeating his adversaries.
The ensuing battle with Kong, set to take place in 2020’s Godzilla Vs. Kong would then see the franchise’s two strongest and deadliest creatures go head to head.
Jordan Vogt-Roberts had this to say when we quizzed him about the film’s extra scene: “All I can say is I’ve seen a bunch of concept art and pre-vis that’s amazing and very cool.”
We also asked him if ex-SAS man Conrad and ‘anti-war’ photographer Weaver end up going to work for Monarch. He said, “In theory, yes I think they go and work for Monarch. Whether you see that story, we’ll see.”
The problem, of course, is that the next film in the series, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, takes place – according to Vogt-Roberts – in the “near future”.
“I don’t know if you’ll see Brie and Tom’s characters again because the next Godzilla movie does take place [in the] modern day,” he added.
There’s always room for a spin-off of course, and Vogt-Roberts seems to agree: “I think the brass tacks of that are probably ultimately on whether audiences want to see that [story].”
A spin-off the Kings of Summer director might consider as a future project perhaps?
‘Kong: Skull Island’ is out now.