With Adam Wingard leaving the Monsterverse, Warner Bros. and Legendary need a new filmmaker to helm their next franchise installment. So who do they have in mind? Deadline has the answer there. The outlet reports that Grant Sputore will take over directorial duties from Wingard for the next Monsterverse theatrical release. Is that a good choice by the studio? Let’s break it down.
Sputore is a greenhorn compared to Wingard as a director, but their starts in the industry have striking similarities. For instance, Sputore’s debut feature, 2019’s genre film “I Am Mother,” was a festival darling not unlike Wingard’s 2011 breakout “You’re Next.” But the comparisons end there. Wingard has many more features under his belt, while Sputore’s big-budget experience is next to none; outside of “I Am Mother,” he’s primarily a commercial director, albeit a widely recognized one at awards shows.
So is Sputore a good replacement for Wingard or no? It may come down to whatever the next Monsterverse movie ends up being. Outside of “Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings” scripter Dave Callaham writing the next movie, nothing is circulating about the “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” sequel. But that’s to be expected since it hit theaters in March, eventually becoming the franchise’s highest-grossing film at $569.1 million worldwide. Wingard didn’t put a personal stamp on his two Monsterverse projects visually, so Sputore at the reins should be the same. Still, Monsterverse movies are CGI spectacles, the last couple being glossy, candy-colored, and not exactly grounded in the same realism as Gareth Edward‘s 2014 take on “Godzilla.” So it’s not like Legendary wants or needs a veteran visual stylist or someone with an advanced vocabulary in editing and shot composition.
Warner Bros.’s Monsterverse remains a big property, however, a multi-platform franchise that includes the Apple TV+ series “Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters,” video games, graphic novels, and toys. That means, more or less, that the studio wants the next film to make as much money as “The New Empire,” if not more. Is Sputore the man for the job? Fans will soon find out. As for Wingard, he moves on to several projects in development; maybe his long-gestating “Thundercats” movie will be his next?