‘Godzilla’ Update: Frank Darabont To Rewrite, Two Producers Gone, Production Starts In March [ADDED: Short List Featuring Joseph Gordon-Levitt And Henry Cavill, Filming Locations]
Like a monster through a city, major shifts are happening in the world ofGodzilla. The film, whichpremiered concept footage at Comic-Conin July andwill be directed byGareth Edwards(Monsters), is already set with aMay 16, 2014 release date. Now, two of the film’s major producers –Dan LinandRoy Lee— have left the project. In addition, Oscar-nominated writer/directorFrank Darabont(The Shawshank Redemption, The Walking Dead) has been brought on to doa final rewrite. Both of those things are happening just weeks before the film is set to start shooting in March. There are more details after the jump.
UPDATE: A short list of actors Warner Bros. is interested has now been revealed, includingDark Knight RisesstarJoseph Gordon-Levitt(who has passed) andMan of SteelstarHenry Cavill. Plus we know where the movie will shoot. Read more below.
The information comes partially fromHitfixand partially fromDeadline.
Hitfix was the first to report the new start date and that Lin and Lee are leaving the project. Both are major producers at Warner Bros., working on films such asJustice League, LEGO,and many others. Hitfix doesn’t give a reason for the departure but the Deadline piece does. Lin and Lee were among the producers who brought the project to the studio, but the rights then went to Legendary, which is reportedly trying to push them out. Apparently, the producers “refused to reduce the fees they signed on for when the original deal was made” and that the rift could end up in court.
How that’ll affect what we eventually see on screen next May is yet to be determined. Most likely, it’ll just change the budget so it won’t matter to audiences. What does matter, though, is Frank Darabont. The man behind Stephen King adaptations such asThe Shawshank Redemption, The MistandThe Green Milehas just been brought on to do a final rewrite on the film. The script, originally written byMax Borenstein, has had lots of different people on it over the past few years:David Callaham(The Expendables),David S. Goyer(Man of Steel) andDrew Pearce(Iron Man 3) among them. Odds are Darabont won’t have a major impact on the plot. He’ll likely be responsible for small character and dialogue tuning, but his assistance can only help.
Once that’s done, filming should get underway around March. Doesn’t that mean we’ll hear about casting soon? You’d hope so.
UPDATE– Almost like the internet answered the above question,The Hollywood Reportermentioned thatJoseph Gordon-Levittis one of the actors Warner Bros. is interested in for the film.Varietythen addedHenry Cavill, Scott McNairy(Monsters) andCaleb Landry Jones(X-Men: First Class) are being discussed too. No offers are out there because the script isn’t done but the studio is interested in JGL and Cavill while the filmmakers like McNairy and Landry Jones. Apparently, though, Gordon-Levitthas already passedas he was offered the film last last year.
Then, over onAin’t It Cool News, they report filming will begin March 14 and take place in both Hawaii and Vancouver. The shooting title isNautilus.
