The release of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire in worldwide theaters may have reminded fans of the late Lance Reddick. Although the actor did not have a huge part in the franchise, director Adam Wingard hoped to give him a more significant role and even work with him in future installments.
The famed star passed away unexpectedly in 2023, leaving his fans devastated as they won’t see him any longer in the MonsterVerse. What’s even more upsetting is the fact that he had many omitted scenes in the previous film.
Godzilla x Kong Director Says Lance Reddick Had a Bigger Role
During his interview with GamesRadar, filmmaker Adam Wingard revealed Lance Reddick was supposed to have more airtime than he did in Godzilla vs. Kong. He explained why he had to cut some of his scenes.
“Originally, Lance’s part was a little bit bigger as he plays the Monarch director, he’s running the organization. There was a scene earlier in the film, a big board room scene where they’re setting up the mission. He had a larger role, but ultimately we didn’t need that scene, we changed a couple of plot details during the editing process, so that earlier stuff got cut.”
Eventually, Reddick’s role had turned into a cameo. He was originally signed up for the project so he really had to have a few lines thrown in there.
“Now, that stuff just counts as a fun cameo. He is still top credited, it’s still part of his contract. It’s funny because he shows up in the opening credits and then turns up for four lines, maybe three, in the movie ultimately.”
Like in any movie project, reshoots do happen. Wingard admitted he tried to have the least possible reshoots for Godzilla vs. Kong. Many things happen inside the editing room so no one could have foretold Reddick’s fate in the movie.
“We actually did the least amount of reshoots than any of those MonsterVerse films. Normally, they do about two weeks, but we only did five days. We did have to be quite surgical, as we did change one element of the plot, and it affected a couple of scenes at the beginning and a couple of scenes at the end.”
Wingard stated that the final cut that fans saw in theaters was the “ultimate version of the film.”
Lance Reddick On His First Godzilla Movie
Lance Reddick previously spoke about his uncredited role in TriStar’s 1998 Godzilla film via DiscussingFilm:
“It’s a completely different experience. In the first Godzilla, I had one line in a scene that was directed by the second unit director, and the scene ended up on the cutting room floor. So, I have the credit, but I’m not actually in the film.”
For fans, this is a completely wild concept when actors join a project only to be removed from it by the end of filming. Reddick was an incredible actor, and his talent could have been utilized more in the movie.
