Gareth Edwards: How soon Production for Godzilla Sequel begins Depends on China

My main issue with people is the 

" I went to the cinema to catch Godzilla fighting monsters. Who cares whether the leading actor had trauma from his childhood, or if his wife is nurse or doctor and their kid is 5 years old, or even if he rescues a japanese kid on the monorail? I waited nearly 2 hours just to see Godzilla battle the MUTOs, and just when it happens, the scene cuts to the guy trying to diffuse the bomb (and we are still not done with him yet!). What were the producers thinking? "  

Yes I went in to see Godzilla, but I happened to love all the stuff before. I do agree about the cuts in the battle, but I also wanted to know what happened to the character I've been following for an hour and a half.

I loved Aaron Taylor Johnson's performance anyways. He portrayed military in a realistic way. Act first, emotion later. Even then, Ford Brody's whole involvment in the movie was to save his family, and you can hear the emotion in his voice. People who say his performance was bad, I bet they don't know active military personally. The way he played with his kid, the happiness there. When he's on the job, he is focused. Goofing off is for the home life. 

Anyways, I feel that if you want nonstop Kaiju fighting, go watch Pacific Rim. The original Godzilla was very character driven and Godzilla was barely in that. I respect your right to an opinion, but I don't have to like it.

Well that's my rant for this post!

DESTROYAH-X - That is extremely interesting news! Indeed, I'm very curious to see how well Godzilla does oversees as a whole. I'm not entirely certain that I agree with that one gentleman whom didn't care for the human elements in the film, but I can agree that I'd like a tad more Godzilla in the next film - and a tad more fighting. ;) Not only that, but I'd like to see Godzilla billed as a terror to Mankind - a real pubishment for our mistreatment of the world! Not just a monster that comes forth to beat-up other monsters before swimming away without making an example of a city or two. :)

@Something Real haha yes, and by the way, some media reviewers in the China did point out that the MUTOs are sort of a retribution of mankind for what they have done to the environment, while Godzilla is there to put things back in balance.

"It needs to earn at least $110 million to match up to pacific rim" , I'm sorry what? Pacific rim made $411 million, it's already passed it! 

Godzilla has been out in china for what? A week? It will beat pacific rim regardless if godzilla was barney in it because they will go see it, godzilla has already out grossed pacific rim worldwide so this will be even better for it, although I do hope legendary to ahead with a pacific rim sequel, good thread, thanks for letting us know, by the way ignore my post above I didn't read the topic right.

Evan,

Godzilla has only been in theaters for 3 days in China. It's passed Pacific Rim's world wide total, but has yet to make the same amount of money Pacific Rim made in the country.

@Evan123 - No worries man, indeed Godzilla has beaten Pacific Rim handily in terms of combined sales, but as the production of the sequel depends largely on China's reception of this movie, all eyes will be on the Chinese market. Which is why it is imperative that sales of Godzilla 2014 in China must surpass Pacific Rim's $110 million so that they can kick-start on the sequel sooner. 

As for Pacific Rim 2, the good news is, a sequel, and not a prequel has been confirmed for this movie except that it has yet to be officially greenlit by Legendary. Guillermo Del Toro is currently working on the script with Marvel's writer Zak Penn and promises that, ‘ I’m going for very new, very crazy ideas on the second one, which are very different from the first one – but you will get really great spectacle.’

I care less about when Gareth and the crew will start production, and more with whether or not he has taken the criticisms of the film into account. Because in terms of the character development, more exciting stuff going on in the film, and the cruel cutaways/short monster sequences he really needs to take that into account and improve upon it.

Especially for a sequel where we, the audience, and his fictional characters alike have already seen Godzilla and what he's capable of. Regardless of the production start, I want to hear signs of improvement. Otherwise, we're just waiting for the same film with different monsters and plot.

@InstinctiveGigan: 

I agree with what you say about Gareth and crew taking criticisms of the film into account when planning the sequel. But I am a little bit more extreme here. In fact, I believe a change of director is necessary for the sequel if they want to generate more money from the next, because I think Gareth Edwards is not the man for the job. And Legendary also seriously needs to stop its misleading marketing strategy that led audiences feeling cheated.

His inexperience shows in Godzilla 2014. We ended up with a film that felt like it was made up with lots of cut-and-paste familiarity brought forward from other epic movies that inspired Gareth Edwards. I can't quite think of an exact memorable scene that is worth remembering in this movie if you ask me. Godzilla 2014 to general audiences borders to the point of forgettable. Personally I only like the design of Godzilla and the MUTOs and actually found the music score more memorable than the scenes themselves.

You do note that at a time when those annoucements regarding the sequel to be helmed by Gareth including a Star Wars stand-alone film were made, it was because Godzilla opened with an explosive debut. But now, all these would likely be put on hold because Godzilla 2014 in reality now has not been able to match up to the projected sales estimates it was supposed to garner based on that sales momentum.  How do we know Godzilla is not performing better than it should?

Godzilla opened even bigger than X-men Days of Future Past, and based on projected sales momentum, the film is expected to rake in $700 - $800 million. But unfortunately, the sales slumped quickly due to negative reactions from the first-wave of audiences and today Godzilla has made $439 million in combined sales, while compared to X-men DOFP, it has already made $661 million to date. That's over a $220 million gap despite X-Men opening one week later, and even with China in, Godzilla will not be able to fill that gap.

This slump is not only taking place in the US, but also in overseas markets. Godzilla showed promise at the start, but staggered after the 2nd weekend. If we look at the last foreign figures made by Godzilla, it was $200.8 million - Fast forward nearly two weeks later with 60 foreign markets, Godzilla today has earned only $248.3 miilion. So Godzilla only earned $48 million from these countries in the last two weeks?

Which is why, I am only taking the explosive start of Godzilla in China at face value for now, because if the US and the rest of the world have experienced the same phenomenon only to slump towards the 2nd week, who is to say China is immune to this? 

To put it across in a not-so-nice manner, the fact that Gareth E. says they needed to depend on China's reception to decide how soon production kickstarts for its sequel, is an indication he still doesn't get to call the shots altogether and Legendary Pictures is still not confident enough at this point to decide if Gareth should work on it. This means that his role as a director for the sequel is still in question, and China is his gamble and the determining factor.

Ummm, what does he mean by "We will commence production immediately"? Doesnt he have a Star Wars movie too finish first?!

Well, whatever, i cant wait too see a sequel(If it happens, which it most likely does)! I loved everything about the movie, i have very little too complain about.

Destroyah-X- I completely disagree with you. There are tons of remerable scenes in the movie and it is not on the verge of Forgettable. All of the fight scenes were great. And pardon me if im ranting but you guys jsut wanted a, On quote, "Smash and Bash" Film.

"I can't quite think of an exact memorable scene that is worth remembering in this movie if you ask me."

Really? The Philipine mine? The Q-Zone? The MUTO breaking free? The tsunami? The bridge? The HALO jump? The Golden Gate sequence? The Chinese lanterns? The fight? The radio active breath? Godzilla slipping back into the ocean? Wait, that's the whole film!

Let's see, who could they bring in for the sequel? Well we can discount Spielberg, Jackson, Del Torro and Nolan. How agore Gore Verbinksi, Roland Emmerich? Micheal Bay? Zak Synder? Stephen Sommers? Or any list of directors who turn it up to 11 with mind bluegeoningly tedious results?

No thanks, Edwards is an artist, he understands cinema and while Godzilla wasn't perfect - mostly script related - he has a sense of light and shade. You know I even enjoyed the cutaways, they showed a sense of daring often missing in todays video-graphics-by-the-numbers blockbusters.

If you're also translating the viewer comment from the Chinese, you need to fix this: the scene cuts to the guy trying to diffuse the bomb.

"Diffuse" is an adjective meaning, roughly, "spread out into a fine mist."

What you do to a bomb is you "Defuse" -- ie: remove the fuse from -- it.

@GorillaGodzilla & 2112 : You have your opinions, and I am not going to disagree with you or dispute on that. If you think the movie is memorable, good for you. Apparently, not everyone thinks this way, and sorry to say this: Beyond this forum, there are many others out there who don't exactly see anything fantastic in this movie. Have you checked beyond the fandom? 

You are free to air your thoughts and love for Gareth Edwards' so-called 'artistry' that you claim to be the reason for saying the movie is fantastic. But to me, I'm more pragmatic. I let the numbers do the talking. And right now $439 million earnings is nothing to shout about, and the movie has opened with an explosive start only to slump not only in the US, but also in all markets. X-men, which opened lesser on the 1st day compared to Godzilla was given the nod of approval by the first wave of audiences and is making over $660 million to date despite opening one week later than Godzilla. A huge gap of $220 million apart.

Instead of justifying yourselves, you should ask what happened to Godzilla? If audiences indeed recommended the movie to the people around them, I don't think Godzilla would be stuck below $500 million today. It should have been hovering around $600 million by now or even more than X-Men but it just isn't happening here. Period.

So let's see: Godzilla opened with an explosive start in all markets upon debut but after the 2nd week its sales momentum isn't quite holding up. In China, the same thing is happening. An explosive start, but I will let the numbers do the talking. Let's see if the slump happens again with China this time.

Oh yes, and as again I would like to reiterate that I love the design of Godzilla 2014, I love the MUTOs, I love the music score which I find memorable, but I just don't like the way the movie has been directed, and I personally think they need a new director. And China's box-office takings will eventually decide if they need a new director to helm the sequel. ;)

Destroyah-X "Beyond this forum, there are many others out there who don't exactly see anything fantastic in this movie. Have you checked beyond the fandom?"

thats the problem with your opinion... see this is obvious a film made for fans- REAL godzilla fans. its obviously not a movie meant for the mainstream audience, if not they would've michael bay'd the entire crap just to make it a cash cow. i think thats the exact reason why gareth should return to direct, he genuinely ADORES godzilla, and not to direct it because of money, fame or whatever. its evident from his first movie thats already based on giant monsters.

i'd gladly take this fanservice over any other bullshit repeat of the 1998 disaster. of course it wasn't perfect, but im sure gareth would do much better the 2nd time round. and also, it was damn near epic (i've pretty much lived 21 of my 26 years of life as a godzilla fan.)

Destroyah-X-My friend, we all have strong opinions on this film, but man, I just think some people have blinders on. They were going to like this movie no matter what they got. Me, well, I agree with you. Edwards is most likely not the guy for the job should there be a sequel. This movie is a failed attemp to capture the magic of other directors, like Steven Spielberg. He's a wannabe. He mistakes "hiding" the monster for good pacing and suspense building. And his character development is flat and limited. In fact, most of what he puts in the film that's good, he can't seem to cut away from fast enough.

Intinctivegigan-I hope you are right. Should he be the one that directs a sequel, I hope he's been listening to what people are saying. Or at least perhaps the studio will force him to do the right thing.

2112- Some of what you call scenes, are actually visuals. Many of the visuals you mention are the same scene that just constantly cuts back and forth. And yes, much of what you mentioned is somewhat forgettable. The HALO jump looks great. It's a strong visual, but nothing much is happening there besides guys jumping out of a plane. The mine - nothing interesting happens there. It's just set up. The Chinese lanterns what? The fight, that happens so fast and cuts back and forth so much that you can barely see what's happening? Godzilla sliiping into the ocean is memorable? Really? Him basically walking and falling into water counts as a memorable moment!? I am living in a different reality than some of you people.

And I would rather have a director turn it up to 11 than keep it at 4. I don't go to a Godzilla movie for easy listening.

And yes, Edwards is an artist. A very mediocre, unoriginal, and uninspired artist.

Well then, ThePike, tell me something: Who do YOU think would be a better director? I just wanna know, because I'm curious who you think can capture and pay respect to Godzilla better.

@SelimBradley - You mentioned: " thats the problem with your opinion... see this is obvious a film made for fans- REAL godzilla fans. its obviously not a movie meant for the mainstream audience, if not they would've michael bay'd the entire crap just to make it a cash cow. i think thats the exact reason why gareth should return to direct, he genuinely ADORES godzilla, and not to direct it because of money, fame or whatever. its evident from his first movie thats already based on giant monsters. ....... i'd gladly take this fanservice over any other bullshit repeat of the 1998 disaster. "

Are you sure Gareth Edwards made the movie only to cater for Godzilla fans? You are either naive or being a troll here. Which movie studio doesn't want to make more money here and be up there in the top list of blockbusters and rewrite history?  Try as you might to belittle the Michael Bay/Steven Spielberg Transformer Franchise, you do realise the last movie Dark of The Moon alone actually made over US$1.3 Billion (Yes, I repeat its a Billion dollars). How many movies can actually make $1 billion dollars to begin with? Think before you label Michael Bay as crap, because he has been billed as the Director with the 'Midus Touch' in the movie industry of late. 

So going by your logic, whoever 'Adores' Godzilla as you claim should have a go at directing the movie. Legendary must be very generous then to allow someone who truly adores Godzilla to direct the movie. Face it, Legendary studios was just giving him a try because they are equally constrained and running on a budget, and Gareth Edwards happens to fit the bill. Godzilla 98 is a disaster indeed, but the real disaster is if Godzilla 2014 does not even match the $643 million made by the 98 version (after adjustment) eventually.  

ThePike - I agree with some points you made, that Edwards shouldn't direct the next film. But I feel like he did a good job with this one. I felt the movie went great, except we could've had the reveal earlier, and less cuts in the final fight. But Edwards, as you have said, is a wannabe. And the only way he can go from wannabe to real director is expirience with major films. I feel like his directing style, with "Godzilla" and "Monsters," is that he is good at keeping a low budget by hiding the monsters. That works, for me at least, fora big reveal, which to me is memorable. But that style of directing just won't work in a sequel, when we, the characters, and the world all know what Godzilla looks like.

personally I feel Gore Verbinski would make a good director for the next film