Godzilla vs. Kong star Eiza Gonzalez recently reflected on her time working on the blockbuster film while promoting the action thriller feature, Ambulance. While discussing Godzilla vs. Kong, Gonzalez revealed something pivotal about filmmaking that many viewers may not be familiar with.
Godzilla vs. Kong managed to make the once impossible actually possible for fans and critics alike. The film had both titans fighting in all their cinematic glory in a story that made the conflict work. Fans got to see these two fight in a way that they were meant to, with computer-generated images instead of puppets and rubber suits. The movie never cut corners and made the indestructible Godzilla give Kong a run for his money in a fight that was 'realistic' for what is involved.
One of the people who witnessed the titans up close was Gonzalez's Maia Simmons, who worked as one of the executives at Apex Cybernetics. While speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Gonzalez revealed that the film had a number of scenes that didn't make it into the final film cut. "A lot of the story got cut out and the story was completely changed, so it was a bummer because my character had a whole different storyline that went in different routes," Gonzalez started. "And Jessica getting cut out of the movie really affected all of the other characters. But it wasn’t anything to do with Jessica’s character. It was just that the storyline changed because the movie is called Godzilla vs. Kong and it obviously has to service them. They’re the big stars."
Gonzalez also made it clear that she had no hard feelings towards the filmmakers or those involved with the production. "I’m just grateful that I got to do a really fun movie. I really enjoyed that shoot. I really enjoyed working with Adam [Wingard] and my cast. I love Legendary and Warners," she continued. "So my experience was really good, but that’s just par for the course, sometimes. You learn so much by doing these movies, and I’m just really happy that we were able to release that movie. I would’ve loved for us to wait a little longer because it was just such a fun, big movie. I would’ve loved for more people to experience it in a big, big theater."
Godzilla vs. Kong ended up getting a hybrid release on HBO Max and in theaters due to the film premiering during the pandemic. This was unfortunate for those who couldn't experience the film in theaters but fortunate for everyone to be able to experience it when it was ready. Hopefully, when the Godzilla vs. Kong sequel comes out, things are safer and audiences can show up in large numbers to see it on the big screen.
While it's disappointing to not see all of these scenes in the final cut of the film, this is something that happens more often than not. Take Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, for example. They shot an alternate scene where Razor Fist dies but they obviously didn't choose to go with this sequence. This is a minor scare for actors, as they shoot many scenes and have no idea what's going to actually make it into the final cut or which version the higher-ups will go with.
Godzilla vs. Kong is currently available on HBO Max.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter