‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Director Explains Why Lance Reddick’s Role Was Cut

If you’re like me, you’re a big fan of Lance Reddick. He never seems to be the star of a movie but he’s got this unique charisma about him. That’s why I was hyped to see his name pop up in the opening credits for “Godzilla vs. Kong.” Unfortunately, his role was reduced to a throwaway scene that lasts like five seconds.

Though Reddick isn’t a huge name, it was a really weird role to have a notable actor play. Luckily, director Adam Wingard has come out and explained why the actor’s role was so limited.

“Originally, Lance’s part was a little bit bigger as he plays the Monarch director, he’s running the organization,” Wingard told GamesRadar+. “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. 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.”

While more Reddick is always a good thing, the director made it clear that we won’t be getting a Wingard Cut of “Godzilla vs. Kong.”

“This is the ultimate version of the film,” Wingard said. “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. That’s where my low-budget, no-budget background comes in. You have to be very crafty and able to think in those terms. We were very surgical in those terms. So, no, this is the ultimate version of the film, I would never do a different version of it.”