In August 2017, a group of fellow journalists and I went to the Atlanta set of Michael Dougherty’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Set five years after the events of 2014’s Godzilla, the movie sees a more powerful Monarch organization once again calling on the help of Godzilla after a villain seeks to use the monsters as living atomic weapons.

During a break in filming, we got to talk with director Michael Dougherty. During our conversation, we talked about how he got involved with the film, why his film is like Aliens when compared to Gareth EdwardsGodzilla, why it was important for scientists to be the heroes, making a nod to King Kong, Easter eggs, redesigning Ghidorah, Rodan, and Mothra, for a new era but staying loyal to the original designs, bringing in horror elements, how the film connects to the other films of the Monsterverse, if he wanted to bring in any other Toho monsters, and more.

Check out the interview below, and click here for our full report from the set.

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How did you get involved with this project? Is this something you went after?

MICHAEL DOUGHERTY: My local TV station had the old black and white Universal monsters, so I was subjected to it for years. And I fell in love with the character (of Godzilla) and it’s funny because when I got the job I went back and looked at an old childhood bible – I went to Catholic school, which is a much longer story – and I found an old bible where I had drawn Godzilla, in between the various bible illustrations, so there was a picture of like the fall of Jericho and I had added Godzilla. I figured if I add Godzilla to anything, it’s better. So yeah, he’s been a good friend for a very long time. So it’s a dream come true.

Edwards’ Godzilla has been described as slow burn, where the other Godzilla films have been more action packed. How would you describe your Godzilla?

DOUGHERTY: Well, I hesitate to say it, but I would call it the Aliens to Gareth’s Alien. So it’s a bit more on an ensemble film. Whereas the first movie was really about Brody’s character kind of weaving his way through that adventure and Monarch kind of was the backdrop for that. Here Monarch is the focus, because I find that concept really fascinating. The idea that there is a secret agency that tracks giant monsters - that is a dream come true for me too. I think if the government said to me, ‘Tomorrow you have to fake your own death and abandon every one you know to go hunt the paranormal,’ I would be gone in a heartbeat.

So I felt there was an opportunity to sort of craft Monarch as a group of humanists, who unlike a lot of top secret government agencies where they have their own nefarious mission statements, Monarch has a very positive outlook on what these creatures are and what they represent. And the idea of a team of heroes who are scientists really appealed to me. This isn’t a Marvel film where you people in mech suits or with superpowers getting into endless fist fights. These are just very intelligent, capable people, who are up against impossible odds. So in a time where, in our current climate, where science is being constantly questioned and targeted, the idea of creating a film where scientists are heroes, I thought was really important.

How long after the event’s is Edwards’ Godzilla does this film take place and where are these monsters sort of suddenly coming from – do the events of that film set off a chain reaction?

DOUGHERTY: No. This film roughly takes place in real time. So we are placing that first film in 2014 and we are saying this film takes place roughly five years after, so in 2019. The monsters – it’s not like the monsters are suddenly popping out of nowhere, they’ve always been here. They were here before we were. So the concept we’re running with is that this world belonged to them. If anything, we’re the invasive species, and we’ve simply rediscovered something that’s always been there and that they are in some ways, the old gods. The first gods. And that’s something we’re also trying to bring to this film for a more mythological, almost biblical, backdrop to the creatures, and it’s called Godzilla…the idea that these creatures were once worshipped by some ancient civilization. I really love that about the old movies in that Mothra was this deity. It really opened up the mythology. So if Mothra existed thousands of years ago, and Godzilla existed thousands of years ago, and Mothra was worshipped by some ancient civilization, as was Kong, that would make sense that the other creatures probably had some contact with human beings at some point too. As a kid it always bummed me out that dinosaurs never actually crossed paths. After years of Harryhausen films, that was such a heartbreaking truth to discover. So I’m saying fuck that. No. At some point, ancient humans that we have forgotten about, somehow did interact with these ancient beasts.

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Image via Warner Bros. and Legendary

So in regards to the myth building, overall, are we going to see any reference to Kong in this movie?

DOUGHERTY: Yeah. He’s out there. I mean I love the idea of the two creatures crossing paths. Loved that idea since a kid, even in the original Godzilla vs Kong. For as cheesy as it was, the concept was brilliant. Who wouldn’t want to see that smack down? It makes sense that they would exist in the same universe I think.

We had an Easter egg in the last film, of the fairies. Can we see anything extrapolated from that in this film? Are they growing? Going back to your statement in regards to religion, and, monster worship as it were.

DOUGHERTY: Yeah. I love the fairies in the original films. I don’t know how big they’ll be in this movie. They might make an appearance.

A lot of the other monsters, Rodan, Mothra, Ghidorah, have their own very distinct noises, like Godzilla. So, how are you building on those noises, the way that this Godzilla’s roar was updated from the last movie in making them more distinct than how they were. Will fans hear Oh yeah, that’s Rodan’s?

DOUGHERTY: I think you should be able to close your eyes and listen to the creatures and be able to identify them without any visual whatsoever. Because the sounds of the creatures are so distinct. Like Ghidorah’s got that really cool trill, shriek to it. And so what I did was I gave a super cut of all the creature noises, from the original films, to the sound designers and said start here. And then start layering and playing but they have to be as distinct as the original films. But to even our previous intimations, Ghidorah, Rodan, Mothra, have the beginnings of some of those sounds. And then when we’ve been shooting on the set, my sound mixer created this massive speaker system I called “Behemoth,” and I’ve got an Ipad in a tent. So I’ve been playing monster noises. So any scene that involves our cast running and screaming in terror, I’ve been playing creature noises. And it really ups their performance. Something pops when they hear the noises. So, in some ways, the creatures have been on set with us. But getting the note right is huge. I think they did a great job with Godzilla’s roar in the first movie. I pushed them a little bit further to bring it even closer to the (1954) original even more. But all the other creatures will have some semblance to the original creatures.

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Image via Warner Bros. and Legendary

Coming off the back of that, can you tell us a bit more about the creature designs? Walking the tightrope between honouring the original and updating…?

DOUGHERTY: Yeah, similar to the sounds of the creatures, to me it’s really important that the silhouette of the creatures are the originals. Like, that’s always the basis of any good creature design, is the silhouette. In the same way that you have to be able to listen to the creature noises and identify the creature without seeing it, you need to be able to look at the silhouette of the monster whether it’s the alien (from Alien), Godzilla or whatever and be able to identify it. So we started with silhouettes. Just to make sure we get their very distinct shapes. You can’t have Ghidorah without the two tails and the three heads. It’s got to have the right amount of horns, and then the wings are a very distinct shape. They’re not traditional western dragons. So those were marching orders from the beginning, to make sure that Ghidorah looks more like an eastern dragon versus a western. You know, we don’t want it to look like Game of Thrones’ dragons.

The same thing for Rodan. Two horns, very distinct wings, the armor chest plate. And the good news too is Toho has very specific requirements. All of which I completely agree with. The bigger challenge was Mothra. How do you take a giant moth and make it look cool? It can’t be a moth magnified big. The beauty of it is, I had to go down a rabbit hole and really research moths. And it turns out moths are very different from butterflies. They are super cool insects. And there are so many different species of moths and have very different shapes. Some of which almost look predatory. Some are much more sleek and a little scary looking than the typical Mothra design.

So the approach for Mothra is to create an insectoid, huge creature that looks believable from every angle, and especially in motion. But also looking at the different kinds of aspects we can draw from nature like bioluminescence and moth dust. And even going back to the idea that these creatures were once worshipped as gods. What would she look like flying in the sky at night? I wanted to jump off of this idea that if you saw Mothra in the sky at night you would think you were looking at an angel. That you were looking at a god. I don’t know if you guys are fans on Ancient Aliens – but I love it. There’s a certain approach there. It’s like, okay, primitive man saw these creatures, and you want to give them a presence that would make him drop to his knees and bow to this god. Same thing with Rodan. It can’t just look like big dinosaurs. Jurassic Park has that covered. They have to be distinct. They have to be their own thing. They’re Titans.

Would you consider Godzilla: King of Monsters more of a horror movie than we’ve seen in past incarnations?

DOUGHERTY: I wouldn’t call it a horror movie, but there’s definitely horror elements. I’m definitely trying to bring in some of that. Obviously going for a lot of suspense and fear and tension and then occasionally some gross out moments. But, yeah, there’s definitely a little bit more horror to it than the previous film had.

How would you describe the tone of this film?

DOUGHERTY: It’s fun. But what I appreciate about Gareth’s film is that it took things seriously. I think there’s a fine line between the two. This is not like a knee slapping comedy by any means. But again, it’s like if you compare Alien, which is a very straight science fiction film with not a lot of yucks, compared to Aliens which sort of had a bit more fun, tongue-in-cheek moments, we’re somewhere in the middle there.

We definitely see the creatures a lot more in this movie. But, again, what I loved about the visual aspect of Gareth’s film is that he treated them with a sense of reality. There was never a magic CGI flying camera. Every shot of the creatures felt like it could have been shot by an actual human being. Whether they’re on a helicopter or a crane, hand held, whatever, the camera movements were never artificial. And so that’s also one of our ground rules. Because it does take you out of the movie, whether consciously or sub-consciously, when you realise that oh, there’s no way a camera could have possibly gotten that shot. And it adds a sense of weight and reality to it. Which I think is missing from a lot of block buster movies.

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Image via Warner Bros. and Legendary

Did you consult with Gareth Edwards or Jordan Vogt-Roberts, or did you want to go forward on this as a new take?

DOUGHERTY: No, I talked to Gareth quite a bit. Texting back and forth. Some phone calls here and there. He actually came and visited the set a few weeks ago. (Kong: Skull Island director) Jordan Vogt-Roberts I didn’t interact with too much outside of post during Kong when we had a brief meeting. But I really like what those guys have done and I think there’s definitely the visual style we developed for this film that we wanted to adhere to, on some levels. You also want to color outside the lines every now and then. You don’t want to be slavish, but I think trying to treat the creatures and the stories, with a sense of respect and also just trying to make it feel real is important.

With all the mythology and world building that’s going into this movie, and obviously you’ve given this a lot of thought, was there, with all the franchise considerations, was there like a Monarch bible already in place or are you writing it as you go?

DOUGHERTY: Ah, it wasn’t a bible. More like a pamphlet. It was more like a presentation video. I think the bible is constantly for Monarch being written with each film. You know, it changes. But I really did want this to be the first film that blow open the doors and lets us get a peek behind the curtain. Which is why we’re shooting in Monarch’s headquarters, in their underwater base. I think there was something really powerful about the idea of this secret organization, which has altruistic intentions and noble ideals about trying to understand our place in the world after these creatures have been discovered. So this will be the first film where you finally get to know some of these scientists on a deeply personal level and understand how they interact with each other and how they interact with the creatures. But yeah, well find these things behind the curtain.

Are you creatively involved in that film in Adam Wingard’s Godzilla vs. Kong?

DOUGHERTY: Not so much. I mean, besides sort of laying the groundwork for the organization and sort of I hope developing a visual bible for what Monarch is, which is still developed from Gareth’s film. We’re keeping a lot of his work intact. The logo, and that sort of realistic feel, and the technology, we’re keeping all of that going. So I’m hoping that sort of gets passed on into the next film. It’s kind of like an exquisite corpse, where the artwork gets passed from one artist to another and ideally they’re adding new and interesting layers to it. But I’m not lording over it by any means.

Were there any other of the Toho monsters you wanted to include or was the four you got, enough?

DOUGHERTY: I mean, it really doesn’t get much better than this. There’s definitely a few others that I was hoping would sort of tip the hat to them, but I mean these are the crown jewels of Toho as far as I’m concerned. Mothra, Rodan, Ghidorah and Godzilla, those are the ones that come to mind when you think of the Godzilla universe. What was fun about them too, was outside of the Universal classic monster movies, Toho is one of the first companies to pioneer the idea of a shared universe. They were doing it long before Marvel was.  Mothra was a completely separate film from Godzilla when it started. Same thing with Rodan. So it kind of feels like things are coming full circle.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters opens May 31st.