‘Godzilla’ Star Bryan Cranston Doesn’t Like the Way His Character Was Handled

Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla was received mostly well, though it did evoke some divisive reactions — some people liked the characters, but hated the lack of actual Godzilla, while others praised Edwards for his restraint with the classic movie monster (I am in this camp) and criticized the underdeveloped characters (also in this one). At least one actor sides with the latter group: Bryan Cranston isn’t very happy about the way his character was handled in the movie.

Spoilers to follow if you still haven’t seen Godzilla for some reason:

In the film, Cranston’s character doesn’t last too long. His wife dies very early, and he follows not long after, leaving us with Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s characters — a married couple with little chemistry and even less actual characterization.

During an interview on the Nerdist podcast (via JoBlo), Cranston expressed his displeasure with his character’s short arc, and says he knew it was a bad move when he read the script:

That character dying at that time was a mistake. I knew it when I read it. When I read it I said, ‘Oh, page 50 this character who was the emotional core at the center, that was guiding the audience in the story up to that point – he dies?’ What a waste.

They kind of dealt with it poorly, that’s my only criticism of it because I think it was a fun movie, it was a very successful movie. I told them that even if I wasn’t doing this role, that character shouldn’t die at that point. It’s just bad narrative, but they were too far down the road. I was the last guy hired because I was still shooting Breaking Bad and they kept pushing because Breaking Bad kept pushing. Finally, I was able to get in and do it.

Cranston went on to explain how his character’s arc should have been handled:

That character should have been with his son and they would’ve started to bond a little bit more and they went on this journey together to go back home and be reintroduced to his grandson. Just when they’re bonding and it looks like they could have a relationship, the father sacrifices himself to save his son. And that’s the way he should have died.

The movie is what it is, and Legendary is currently planning a sequel with Edwards set to return to the director’s chair when he finishes filming Star Wars: Rogue One. That film hits theaters on December 16, 2016, and we likely won’t see Godzilla 2 until 2017.