Sources told Deadline that executives at Legendary Entertainment found out about “Dune” and “Godzilla vs. Kong” moving to a hybrid theatrical-HBO Max release only 30 minutes before Warner Bros. went public with the announcement. As reported earlier this month, Legendary allegedly had Netflix lined up to purchase “Godzilla vs. Kong” for around $250 million, but Warner Bros.’ parent company WarnerMedia blocked the decision.
Deadline adds that Legendary Entertainment and its partners “provided 75 percent of the $165 million or so net budget of ‘Dune’” and “put up a similar amount of the funding on the ‘Godzilla Vs. King’ film.” The issue Legendary executives are now worried about is whether or not moving these films to streaming will tarnish “the long term viability of the franchises.” Wingard’s “Godzilla vs. Kong” is the fourth entry in Legendary’s MonsterVerse following “Godzilla,” “Kong: Skull Island,” and “Godzilla: King of the Monsters.” Villeneuve’s “Dune,” meanwhile, is intended to kick off a series of film and television series rooted within the universe created by Herbert’s six novels. Villeneuve only agreed to direct Warner Bros. and Legendary’s “Dune” adaptation because they were letting him split the novel into two films. No details about a second Villeneuve “Dune” movie have yet to be revealed. “Godzilla vs. Kong” is currently scheduled for release in theaters and on HBO Max on May 21, 2021. “Dune” is set to follow with a hybrid opening on October 1, 2021. Villeneuve’s science-fiction epic was originally scheduled to open in theaters nationwide on December 18, 2020, but the pandemic pushed back the project into 2021. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
