'Deadpool 2' star Julian Dennison cast in 2020's 'Godzilla vs Kong'
That Hashtag Show reports that 'Deadpool 2' star Julian Dennison has joined the cast for the next installment in the Godzilla franchise, 'Godzilla vs Kong.' Currently slated for a 2020 release, Dennison will be joining the likes of Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things) and Kyle Chandler (Zero Dark Thirty, The Wolf of Wall Street, Manchester By the Sea).
We recently saw the New Zealand-born star featuring in the role of Russell Collins aka 'Firefist' in the 'Deadpool' sequel which has already grossed over $500 million worldwide. Dennison was hand-picked for the role by lead Ryan Reynolds, with it being reported that the character was 'tailor-made' for him and that no other actors were even considered for the role.
Dennison initially shot to fame for his role as the juvenile delinquent Ricky Baker in Taika Waititi's 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople,' which became the highest-grossing New Zealand film in history. The adventure comedy-drama film premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and was received well by critics as well as audiences.
While little is known about 'Godzilla vs Kong,' a description for the 2020 film by Legendary Pictures reads, "The Gigantic Kong meets the unstoppable Godzilla. The world watches to see which one becomes the king of all monsters."
Plans for the movie have been in motion since as far back as October 2015, when Legendary announced that it wants to unite both Godzilla and Kong in a film. The studio intends to create a shared cinematic franchise 'centered around Monarch, the secret crypto-zoological government agency Monarch' which debuted in its 2014 film.
Legendary says that they want to 'bring together Godzilla and Legendary's King Kong in an ecosystem of giant super-species, both classic and new,' though they will still continue to collaborate with Warner Brothers for the franchise.
2020's 'Godzilla vs Kong' will be a follow up to the Michael Dougherty-directed 'Godzilla: King of Monsters' which is slated for a May 31, 2019, release and for which filming has already begun. Adam Wingard was announced as the director for the fourth installment in May 2017.
Wingard is highly-regarded for his work in the horror genre, most notably for films such as 'You're Next,' 'The Guest,' and 'Death Note.' His other films such as 'Pop Skull' and 'A Horrible Way to Die' were also received well and walked away with awards at multiple film festivals.
'Godzilla vs Kong' is set to begin filming in Atlanta this fall, with the studio said to be eyeing a November start. It would be the fourth movie in Legendary's shared cinematic monster-verse after 'Godzilla,' 'Kong: Skull Island,' and the soon-to-be-released 'Godzilla: King of Monsters.'