Beauty and the Beast and Legion star Dan Stevens joined the Monsterverse in Legendary Pictures' Godzilla vs. Kong sequel, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
The British actor played Trapper, the dentist and veterinarian to the monsters who quickly became a firm fan-favourite. Now, The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Stevens is in negotiations to reprise the role in Grant Sputore's (I Am Mother) unnamed follow-up to The New Empire.
Booksmart and The Last of Us star Kaitlyn Dever was the first human addition to the cast.
Gareth Edwards helmed 2014's Godzilla, with Jordan Vogt-Roberts taking charge of Kong: Skull Island. Later, Michael Dougherty expanded the Monsterverse with Godzilla: King of the Monsters before we got a full-blown crossover in Adam Wingard's Godzilla vs. Kong. He returned for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire but will not be back for this latest chapter.
It's previously been confirmed that this movie will see "several new human characters alongside the beloved and iconic Titans Godzilla and Kong as they face off against a cataclysmic world-ending threat."
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings scribe Dave Callaham wrote the script.
The Monsterverse expanded to television with Apple TV+'s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters; season 2 of that is in the works and the franchise as a whole has grossed over $2.5 billion at the worldwide box office. As for Stevens, he'll next be seen in Zero Day, Swipes, and The Terror: Devil in Silver. He also recently reunited with Wingard for A24's Onslaught.
"[Wingard is] very on top of his craft in terms of taking the audience for that ride," Stevens said while promoting Cuckoo last year. "I love being in the hands of solid filmmakers who know how to play with an audience."
"I think Grant is a great choice," he continued. "He's a really lovely filmmaker and I loved playing Trapper. I think there's many more adventures that you could get out of him so we're just going to have to see. I know that they're currently just ideating the whole next thing, so we'll wait and see if Trapper makes a return or not."
We're certainly intrigued to see where the next chapter will go; do Godzilla and Kong continue to work as allies or is a full-blown rematch long overdue? And who could they square off with after overcoming the likes of Mechagodzilla and Skar King?
Stay tuned for updates as we have them.