Godzilla Reboot Officially Adds Elizabeth Olsen

By Rudie Obias | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

Olsen

It’s odd to think of indie actors at the center of giant summer blockbusters, but it seems like that’s the trend in Hollywood lately. It’s smart if you think about it. Studios don’t have to pay as much as casting a well-established movie star, and the indie actor can get more exposure with mainstream audiences. Even if that exposure involves trying not to be stepped on by a giant lizard.

Actor Elizabeth Olsen is now confirmed for the new Godzilla reboot. She would join Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass, Savages) , who is currently in negotiations with Legendary Pictures to play the lead. While it’s unclear whom Olsen would be playing, the 23-year-old female actor mostly appears in smaller, indie movies, so Godzilla will be her first mainstream, tent-pole film.

Olsen is a Sundance darling, appearing in three different Sundance Film Festival films in three consecutive years. She first gained critical recognition for her stirring lead performance in Sean Durkin’s directorial debut, Martha Marcy May Marlene, in 2011. Last year, she  appeared in How I Met Your Mother star Josh Radnor’s sophomore effort, Liberal Arts. A few weeks ago, Olsen appeared in Kill Your Darlings, with Daniel Radcliffe and Ben Foster.

As for Godzilla, on the red carpet for this year’s BAFTA Awards, Olsen said that the reboot wasn’t a light-hearted film. Considering writer Frank Darabont called the new film “a force of nature” and director Gareth Edwards wants to take a more “realistic” approach to the original source material, Godzilla will surely be a massive hit for Legendary and Warner Bros.

Godzilla roars into theaters everywhere on May 16, 2014, in IMAX 3D.