Godzilla vs Kong director explains why Kong may feel more heroic than Godzilla

The monster mash of the century is about to kick off. Godzilla vs Kong will see two cinematic titans clash on the big screen, and everyone's talking about who's going to win – the giant ape or the radioactive lizard? Whether you are Team Godzilla or Team Kong, director Adam Wingard has an interesting filmic analogy for the ape.

"I see him as not just an animal," he tells Total Film in the new issue of the magazine. "He’s the gunfighter without the gunfight. He’s this over-the-hill action hero who is not in a great place in his life. The way I always look at my version of Kong... in Kong: Skull Island, in the ’70s, he’s basically Clint Eastwood in The Good, The Bad And The Ugly. In my version, this is Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven. He’s at the end of his rope. He’s not having a great time. But when action calls, he’s always still ready to step up and take it on!"

The director also gets to play with a different type of Godzilla than we’ve seen on film in this MonsterVerse, which has so far included Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters. “I like how Godzilla’s a character who’s a pendulum in terms of his personality," he says. "He swings back and forth between being a heel and the good guy. I was really excited that I got to do the first Legendary Godzilla where he’s kind of seen as the heel of the movie. And so by proxy, Kong is going to feel a bit more like the hero. I think that fans of both of them will be able to cheer them on equally. Both are given equal weight in the film, in their own ways."

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Godzilla vs Kong doesn't solely star two monsters, but also a very human cast, including Millie Bobby Brown (returning from King of the Monsters), Julian Dennison, Brian Tyree Henry, Alexander Skarsgård, and Rebecca Hall.

Godzilla vs. Kong is scheduled to open in US cinemas and on HBO Max on March 31. For much more on the film – including a report from the set and interviews with the cast – pick up a copy of the new issue of Total Film magazine when it hits shelves (real and digital) this Friday, March 5. Check out the new covers below:

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