‘Godzilla vs. Kong ‘: Is It a Remake of The 1960s Movie With the Same Premise?

Godzilla vs. Kong has fans of monster movies excited, however, audiences saw a film with the same basic premise in 1962. That movie was called King Kong vs. Godzilla. Here’s a look at whether Godzilla vs. Kong is supposed to be a remake of that earlier film.

What the creators of ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ think about ‘King Kong vs. Godzilla’

The idea of King Kong and Godzilla fighting is very broad. A movie doesn’t necessarily need to be a remake of King Kong vs. Godzilla to revolve around that same idea. During an interview with Toho Kingdom, Chris Mirjahangir asked producer Alex Garcia if Godzilla vs. Kong was a remake of King Kong vs. Godzilla. He said his goal was not to remake the earlier film. In addition, he said the original film wasn’t good and his team could use modern technology to make King Kong and Godzilla appear credible.

One of the more controversial elements of the 1962 film is its ending. King Kong and Godzilla fight in the water. The former emerges from the water and the other is nowhere to be seen. However, characters speculate King Kong may have survived. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Windgard described this as a bit of a cop-out.

“I do want there to be a winner,” Wingard said before the film was shot. “The original film (1962’s King Kong vs. Godzilla) was very fun, but you feel a little let down that the movie doesn’t take a definitive stance. People are still debating now who won in that original movie, you know. So, I do want people to walk away from this film feeling like, ‘Okay, there is a winner.’”

Why the writer of ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ thinks a match between the two monsters is meant to be

While the makers of Godzilla vs. Kong clearly feel King Kong vs. Godzilla could have been better, one of them feels the basic concept of the film is fitting. During an interview with Bloody Disgusting, writer Michael Doughtery noted the connection between Godzilla and Kong. “It’s no accident that Kong was a direct inspiration for Godzilla, that the Japanese filmmakers watched King Kong and were hugely inspired by him and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and came up with Godzilla as an answer to that,” he said. “So it just seems like it’s destiny.”

In addition, Doughtery said he wanted to make sure the behemoths fought each other for a reason that was not contrived. He felt they should be able to fight for a reason that felt natural given how aggressive they are. He also said it’s the sort of story people want to see as there is a basic human need to see animals fight going all the way back to Greek mythology. Some of the creators of Godzilla vs. Kong critiqued King Kong vs. Godzilla — but they seem to think they can make a good movie with its central idea.