SDCC: Godzilla 2 announced; King Kong being revived via Skull Island

We received news for two famous "monsters" today at SDCC. In addition to an official announcement for Godzilla 2, we got word that Legendary Pictures is looking to revive the King Kong franchise and offered some test footage of Skull Island.

Director Gareth Evans will be returning for Godzilla 2 and confirmed that in the sequel we will see Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Rodan. Legendary CEO Thomas Tull showed teaser footage including each of the rivals as classified figures. Evans will begin on Godzilla 2 after he completes his Star Wars spin-off film.

As far as King Kong goes, apparently a new version of Skull Island is being planned for a 2016 release. Legendary is now in equal share of the rights for these films after being absorbed by Universal. However, SDCC guests were somewhat disappointed as they assumed the footage shown was going to be a teaser for Jurassic World. The last adaptation of King Kong was Peter Jackson's take on the character back in 2005.

Pacific Rim 2 announced for 2017

Guillermo del Toro is bringing us back to Pacific Rim in 2017 for a second installment. Despite a disappointing box office result, Pacific Rim did gain a decent amount of positive reviews and a lot of people did like it. It was rumored that a sequel was in the works back in October of last year, but things are now official.

Pacific Rim is switching from Warner Bros. to Universal after Universal acquired Legendary Pictures last year. Zak Penn will also takeover on writing and will replace Travis Beacham while Guillermo del Toro will return to direct. Universal announced an April 7, 2017 release.

World of Warcraft film set for 2015

Add another movie to the long list of 2015 releases.

Legendary Pictures and Universal have announced their intent to release Warcraft on December 18, 2015. The film is indeed based off the popular computer game World of Warcraft. The Duncan Jones film will compete directly with Ron Howard's Inferno and could potentially compete with Star Wars: Episode VII as the film is expected to announce a December 2015 release.
Recent news reported that Paula Patton was in negotiations for a lead role. Other sources are saying Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, Paul Dano, or Anson Mount could join her as a male lead.

This release comes after Legendary decided to break ties with Warner Bros. earlier this summer.

The Dark Knight trilogy to hit Blu-Ray this Fall

Official details regarding a trilogy box-set for Christopher Nolan's Batman movies have hit the airwaves. We will get a 6-disc set featuring the three films and their respective special features, a Hot Wheels toy for each film, art cards by Mondo which feature every villain from the trilogy, and a 48-page hardcover book. It looks like it will also include Ultraviolet digital copies for each film. The set markets for $99.97 and will be available starting September 24, 2013.

Along with the existing special features that are already on the DVD/Blu-Rays we have, there will be two new featurettes featuring Christopher Nolan, Richard Donner, Guillermo del Toro, Zack Snyder, and Damon Lindelof. One featurette will have Nolan and Donner discussing the trials about bringing both Batman and Superman to the big screen while the other features interviews by the others about the incredible impact The Dark Knight trilogy has had. I would assume, and hope, that these two features are lengthy enough and interesting to justify spending money on a set to re-purchase movies you no doubt already have. Not to mention the fact that there are already some trilogy box-sets out already.

Here is the official press release:

About the Ultimate Collector’s Edition:

Disc 1 – Batman Begins Feature and Special Features
Disc 2 – The Dark Knight Feature
Disc 3 – The Dark Knight Special Features
Disc 4 – The Dark Knight Rises Feature
Disc 5 – The Dark Knight Rises Special Features
Disc 6 – Bonus Disc of New Special Features

NEW Special Features:

The Fire Rises: The Creation and Impact of The Dark Knight Trilogy - The inside perspective on the fascinating story behind the creation of one of the most celebrated franchises and how it changed the scope of movie making….forever.  Full of never-before-seen footage, rare moments, and exclusive interviews with  Guillermo Del Toro, Damon Lindelof, Michael Mann, Richard Roeper, Zack Snyder and others.

Christopher Nolan & Richard Donner: A Conversation - For the first time, Directors Christopher Nolan (The Dark KnightTrilogy) and Richard Donner (Superman) sit down to discuss the trials and triumphs involved in bringing the two most iconic superheroes of all time to the big screen, and how Superman influenced Nolan when developing Batman Begins.

IMAX® Sequences: The Dark Knight; The Dark Knight Rises - See your favorite scenes as they were intended in the original IMAX^© aspect ratio

Exclusive NEW Memorabilia:

Premium Mattel Hot Wheels Vehicles: Batmobile, Batpod and Tumbler
Newly commissioned collectible art cards by Mondo featuring Scarecrow, Joker, Bane, Harvey Dent, and Ra’s al Ghul
48-page hardcover book featuring production stills and behind the scenes images from all three movies