Happy New Year, everyone! 2022 is here! New year means new hopes and wishes. Last year, we had a decent amount of content in the kaiju genre with Pacific Rim: The Black, Godzilla vs Kong, and Godzilla: Singular Point. It was truly a time to be alive for fans as all of us got something we wanted in some form. You wanted more robots? Pacific Rim: The Black got you covered. Wanted to see a giant monkey punch a giant lizard? Godzilla vs Kong has your back. Did you want an anime with long-winded exposition on physics of the monsters that nobody understands? Godzilla: Singular Point has it all. However, I want more and I have a list of things I want to see happen in 2022.
There are certainly things confirmed for this year that we know will be happening, but there are stuff that are not yet confirmed or things that are confirmed and heard very little about. For the past couple of years, I usually have a list of expectations of what could happen through out the year. This year, however, there isn't much to expect. The only thing I expect is for Jurassic World: Dominion to be a good movie and that's it. So instead of a list of what to expect, this is my wishlist of things I want to see happen this year.
1. Skull Island Anime
It has been a year since The Hollywood Reporter announced the Monsterverse anime, Skull Island, to be in the works at Netflix. Since then, we have had no news about it. For 2022, I would like to see a trailer drop online or at least some news that gives some detail about the show. When will it be released, who are our major characters, what kind of monsters will appear, will it hint at the possibility of a continuation of the Monsterverse series, and so on. All we really know about Skull Island is that it is being produced by the same studio that made the Castlevania anime and the time period is set way before the events of Kong: Skull Island. So I hope that we see more info on this anime in 2022.
2. Continue The Monsterverse
Speaking of continuing the Monsterverse, Godzilla vs Kong was a really big deal in 2021 as it helped begin the recovery of the box-office. Did it make the most money that year? No, it didn't. However, most of the movies that I was sure it would beat Godzilla vs Kong very early in the year come up very short, in the end. Movies like Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Mortal Kombat, Cruella, Raya and the Last Dragon, Eternals, and Dune are just some of those movies that fell short. Now, there are movies that did top Godzilla vs Kong such as Fast 9, No Time To Die, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, Godzilla vs Kong managed to hold on to that top 5 spot since March and I found it to be more than impressive.
Since Godzilla vs Kong did so well, all of us (including myself) have been anticipating for any news of if the series will continue or not. What I would like to see is some sort of announcement that the series will continue with more films. When and where it will be announced doesn't matter as long as there is a confirmation. What I want to see most, though, is that Legendary plans the Monsterverse series to another couple more movies that leads up to an "EndGame" style movie that this series deserves. Continue it with another Kong movie taking place in the Hollow Earth, followed up with a Godzilla movie that leads up to the sixth and final movie.
Currently, the contract between Toho Co. and Warner Bros. had called for only three Godzilla movies (Godzilla, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and Godzilla vs Kong). However, Toho is looking to expand themselves globally with the Godzilla property. If they want to continue that growth, then the best idea is to extend the contract with Warner Bros. for another two or three more movies. The Monsterverse is the perfect conduit to make Toho's global expansion happen and the Monsterverse was able to draw in a large audience. Also, Toho gets free money for any American Godzilla movies that get released in Japan. Any money the movies makes in Japan all go to Toho. Ergo, this is the perfect way for Toho to make money without having to spend a whole lot of money.
3. Godzilla vs Kong Wins An Oscar
My next wish is a bit of a long shot, but I would like to see Godzilla vs Kong win an Oscar this year. The movie has been nominated in one category, which is the "Best Visual Effects" category, and it is running up against Black Widow, DUNE, The Matrix Resurrections, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Free Guy, No Time To Die, and Ghostbusters Afterlife.
Any other year, I would not really care about the Oscars because of how they use it as a platform to prop up political propaganda and rig the results. This year is a little different, for me. For Godzilla vs Kong to win an Oscar would mean recognition and the movie deserves to be recognized not just for its visuals, but also recognized that it played an important role in 2021 in showing that people were ready to come back to the movies.
It doesn't have the best story nor is it even the best Monsterverse film, but people flocked to this movie looking for simple entertainment and Godzilla vs Kong delivered the kind of entertainment that the audience felt was worth seeing in theaters. Without Godzilla vs Kong, theaters would probably still be struggling and recovery would have took a little longer to start. Perhaps the beginning of the recovery would have took as long as the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home if it was not for Godzilla vs Kong being as successful as it was. That is why I find it important that Godzilla vs Kong wins this Oscar in this one category.
4. A True Cloverfield Sequel
I know what you're thinking and yes, we do sort of have to talk about this because another one is in the works, as we speak. The Cloverfield Paradox really soured any interest people had, so the next film has a lot of expectations being pressured on it. Ever since the release of Cloverfield in 2008, people have really wanted to see a true sequel to the movie. Even though 10 Cloverfield Lane was part of the Cloverfield series, it wasn't really a sequel. It was like Halloween 3: Season of the Witch where it was a good film, but people wanted to see Michael Myers and didn't get that. The same goes for 10 Cloverfield Lane where people expected to see the monster return, but instead got aliens. Also, 10 Cloverfield Lane and The Cloverfield Paradox were not originally written to be Cloverfield movies. They were written to be their own independent movies until J.J. Abrams pulled them off the shelves had them sloppily rewritten as part of the so-called "Cloververse".
If there is to be any news of development on the new Cloverfield movie or a trailer drops some time this year, what I want to see is for this movie to be a true sequel to the 2008 film. I want this movie to have an original story rather than rewriting a script meant for a different movie. I want to see what happened to the monster after the events of the first movie. Since the first movie was seen as an allegory for 9/11, I would like to see the sequel show some scenes that resemble something similar to the 9/11 memorial and how there are probably more monsters that America is fighting against much like how America had tried to fight the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
On top of it all, it is time to show what Clover can do in a monster fight. Let us see what it can do when backed to a corner by another monster or if Clover is the one that starts the fight how would the monster go about it.
Lastly, something needs to be done with J.J. Abrams, which produces these movies. What J.J. tends to do is start a project, but tends to leave when he is most needed. He did that with The Cloverfield Paradox and with the sequel trilogy of Star Wars. I see this as him being more of a reliability. Somebody that I don't see as trustworthy with Cloverfield. J.J. wanted to give America its own Godzilla, then it is time to actually start doing it. What I want to see happen is either Paramount getting more strict with J.J. and making sure he stays through the whole production or getting a new producer that is trustworthy in overseeing to make sure these movies are made all the way through with no issues and that they don't suck.
5. More Gamera
2021 marked the 55th anniversary of the Gamera series and not much came out of Kadokawa other than theatrical showings of the Heisei trilogy in 4K, which was exclusive only in Japan. It's been YEARS since Gamera had an actual film and part of it is because Godzilla is the more popular giant reptilian monster. The other reason is because Gamera's movies usually flop and the only good movies are the trilogy movies that I just mentioned. There is one way to bring Gamera back into the spot light. Give Gamera cameo appearances in other movies/shows where he can be relevant.
This idea was thought of when I looked at how Godzilla was inserted in a couple of anime projects as well as Kadokawa inserting Daimajin into a Yokai War movie. By inserting these monsters into other titles, it helped keep these characters stay relevant and audiences aware of them. By inserting Gamera into other shows and movies, it can help determine if there is enough demand to justify a new movie for Gamera. Obviously, kaiju fans on the internet demanding for more Gamera can seem like there is a large number when there could be only a small few. So with cameo appearances in movies and tv shows, it can help determine whether there is more demand for this character or not through ticket sales and audience scores.
If there is enough demand, then it will give Kadokawa a reason to try making another Gamera movie. There is enough technology to take Gamera in different directions in terms of how the film can be made. They could make it live action with CGI, they can do a cartoon movie, an anime series, or a blend with a little bit of everything. Kadokawa can take Gamera down a more serious direction similarly with the trilogy movies or more light-hearted and child friendly like Gamera: The Brave. Kadokawa can even collaborate with other studios to help produce these movies. The door to endless possibilities is open and I wish to see Kadokawa take a step through that door by pushing Gamera forward into the future rather than left behind in the past.
6. An Original Monster Flick
My last wish for 2022 is to see a studio come up with more original monster movie. The last time I saw an original monster movie was 2020's Underwater and it turned out to be a very good movie. Many critics proclaimed it to be just Alien, but underwater rather than in space. I, on the other hand, thought it was a perfect spiritual successor to Cloverfield. Despite the similarities, it was an enjoyable monster movie that didn't rely on Godzilla or King Kong. Underwater was purely its own movie that does have potential for a sequel. Honestly, it made me wish that I saw more studios come up with an original monster movie.
The only reason studios latch onto pre-existing properties such as Godzilla, King Kong, Rampage, The Meg, etc. is because they were movies that studios know they can easily see a financial return. However, we have seen twice where an original monster movie made profit and came out with sequels. Those movies were Pacific Rim and A Quiet Place. Granted, both of them had sequels that were not as good as the first, but currently Pacific Rim has done well with the animated Netflix series Pacific Rim: The Black and A Quiet Place Part II has done well enough to get a part 3 thanks to the movie's low budget.
In a time where super hero movies are king, we are also living in a monster movie renaissance that is proving that audiences are taking a big interest in monster movies. Audiences are looking for something original. I know that Kong: Skull Island director, Jordan Vogt-Roberts, has said in an interview that he is working on an original monster movie that takes place in Detroit and being produced by New Regency and Michael B. Jordan's Outlier Society. Not much else is known about this film, but we may not hear more about it until he finishes the live action Gundam and Metal Gear Solid movies. Hopefully by the time we see that movie, people will want to keep seeing monster movies. Better to strike now while the kettle is hot.
Is there anything that you wish to see happen this year? If so, what do you wish to see happen in 2022? Leave a comment in the comments section of what you want to see in 2022. Make sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Minds, MeWe, and Gab to stay up to date for more news, reviews, and discussions.