EXCLUSIVE: Marking the first major role to be cast in the upcoming sequel, Dan Stevens is set to star as the lead of the next feature film installment of the Legendary’s Monsterverse franchise, a follow up to 2020’s Godzilla vs. Kong. Adam Wingard, who directed the first film, is returning to direct the film with production is slated to begin this summer in Australia.
Per usual plot details are being kept under wraps other then the film following the film’s larger-then-life monsters and then prepare for their next battle against each other. The most recent film helped get audiences back in theaters as it became the first film to cross the $100 million marker at the domestic box-office while also grossing $468 million globally. The number is impressive as it also bowed day-and-date on HBO Max.
As for Stevens, while Beauty and the Beast (where he played the titled character) was his first major tentpole lead role, the veteran actor has been particular in the film roles he has taken not jumping into major sequels in the past but the opportunity to reteam with Wingard was too hard to pass up. The two worked together on the action horror thriller The Guest, the Sundance pic that surprised audiences as it gave them a bad ass performance from Stevens that viewers weren’t use and critics and fans went crazy for. The film earned both Stevens and Wingard some of the best reviews of their career at the time while also having major studios taking notice of the potential of both Stevens and Wingard in their future film slates.
Stevens, most recently seen as Nixon White House Counsel John Dean in Gaslit, the Watergate-focused Starz limited series that premiered last month, also received critical praise this year for his German language performance in Maria Schrader’s film I’m Your Man. Among other performances, he was the star of Noah Hawley’s acclaimed X-Men series Legion on FX, and played the Beast in Disney’s 2017 smash global hit Beauty and the Beast. Stevens is represented by CAA, Julian Belfrage Associates and Peikoff Mahan. Wingard is repped by CAA and Grandview.
