In a new exciting bit of news, a report from Deadline has revealed that Dan Stevens is currently in talks to reprise his role as Monarch veterinarian Trapper in the next Monsterverse film. Stevens first played Trapper in the 2024 film Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, in a supporting role alongside Rebecca Hall (as Monarch scientist Ilene Andres) and Brian Tyree Henry (as Bernie, a lovable conspiracy theorist). Despite Stevens’ limited screen time, Trapper stood out as one of the more entertaining human characters in the movie, stealing some of the most fun scenes in the film and nailing his interactions with the larger-than-life monsters, known as titans.
Besides the potential return of Stevens’ character, the Godzilla x Kong sequel also recently cast Kaitlyn Dever in the film, though the full nature of her role remains to be seen. Whatever the case, things seem to be moving forward fairly quickly for the sequel, with Grant Sputore (I Am Mother) also signing on to direct the project, and a draft written by Dave Callaham. The previous film explored the Hollow Earth, which Kong now rules after the events of A New Empire, with Godzilla taking more of a backseat role in the story.
Stevens’ inclusion in The New Empire was more than likely a result of his past collaboration with Adam Wingard, who directed the last two MonsterVerse films. Wingard previously worked with Dan Stevens on the 2017 film The Guest, in which Stevens played the leading role in the film as a U.S. Solider with a mysterious past. Hopefully, this next entry in the MonsterVerse series will offer a course correction regarding one of the most heavily criticized aspects of most films in the series: the human characters.
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Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was a financial success upon its initial release, grossing $571.8 million worldwide on a $135-150 million dollar budget. However, the film was released in proximity to Toho’s own Japanese Godzilla film, Godzilla Minus One. Due to the inherent nature of releasing such similar films around the same time frame, comparisons were made between the two films, with The New Empire receiving less critical favor than Minus One, with the North American film receiving a 54% “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
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Minus One, on the other hand, received critical acclaim, and even won the Academy Award for best visual effects at the Oscars the following year. The film boasts an impressive 99% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics praising the film for its incredibly compelling human characters, even more so than Godzilla himself. The movie is grittier and more grounded, reflecting the real-life struggles that Japan went through in the time period that the movie takes place in.
While the sequel to Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire doesn’t need to emulate the darker and heavier tone of Minus One, it should lean more into the levity of characters like Stevens’ Trapper, whose unabashedly fun performance and disregard for the absurdity of giant monkeys and lizards fighting helped make the rest of the human cast feel less like a distraction from the monster action. The Showa Era of Godzilla films are a prime example of the IP’s ability to be lighthearted, focused on monster action, and still be well received. Hopefully, Stevens’ return to the world of the MonsterVerse is a step in the right direction.