'Godzilla: King of the Monsters' News: 'Crouching Tiger' Star Zhang Ziyi Joins Sequel
Chinese actress Zhang Zhiyi is set to join Legendary and Warner Bros.'s cinematic MonsterVerse, and will be starring in the upcoming "Godzilla" film sequel, "Godzilla: King of the Monsters."
According to a report by Variety, the Beijing-born actress will be part of the next "Godzilla" film along with Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford and Ken Watanabe.
"Godzilla: King of the Monsters" is set several years after the events of the 2014 film "Godzilla," and Zhang's character will be an important figure in the covert Monarch organization which was established in the previous film.
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The most recent "Godzilla" movie was directed by Gareth Edwards. Starring Aaron Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen and Bryan Cranston, the film went to earn $529 million at the global box office.
The forthcoming sequel will be directed by Michael Dougherty, who previously worked on the movie "Krampus." He also wrote the movie's script with Zach Shields, and Legendary previously hinted that the film will feature several other popular Toho kaiju such as Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah.
In late 2015, Legendary and Warner Bros. announced that all future films about King Kong and Godzilla would be developed by both companies as part of the cinematic MonsterVerse that they have created. Aside from "Godzilla "and the recent "Kong: Skull Island," the franchise includes "King of the Monsters" in 2019, and the upcoming "Godzilla vs. Kong" feature film, which is set to be released on May 22, 2020.
Zhang has several international films under her belt. She received acting award nominations from the Golden Globe, BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild for her portrayal of the lead character in "Memoirs of a Geisha." She had also earned a BAFTA nomination for "House of Flying Daggers" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."
The actress is also known for her performance in films such as "Hero," "2046" and "The Grandmaster." Aside from appearing in an action flick like "Rush Hour 2," she also served as a producer in several films such as "My Luck Star," "Oh My God," and "Sophie's Revenge."
"Godzilla: King of the Monsters" is scheduled to hit theaters on March 22, 2019.
