Bryan Cranston Fans Will Be Disappointed With 'Godzilla'
Warning: There are some mild spoilers ahead.
The "Breaking Bad" actor has been in nearly every trailer for the big-action reboot.
Here you can see him warning us about a giant creature who is set to "send us back to the stone age."
The actor narrates another trailer in which he tells us to keep our families safe, "whatever it takes."
Cranston does significant narration on four trailers and three 30-second spots for the movie. So it's not a big leap to think the actor is probably the main star of the film.
Wrong.
Despite heavy marketing featuring the actor, Cranston's barely in the movie.
The actor shows up for about the film's first third before the movie gets turned over to Aaron Taylor-Johnson ("Kick-Ass"), the film's real lead.
It's unfortunate since Cranston is probably the best part of the movie. (We've expanded on this more in our review, here.)
While it's not such a big deal that Cranston isn't the main star, the reason fans may get upset is because it feels like a huge bait and switch.
Of all the 12 trailers and teasers released on the official "Godzilla" YouTube page, Cranston appears prominently in seven of them.
We counted the number of appearances by both Taylor-Johnson and Cranston across those trailers. An appearance includes any time the actor is recognizable in the trailer and is not limited to facial screen time. As an example, it's clear to tell that both this and this are shots of Cranston. This moment, where Cranston's character watches a power plant crumble, may not be as clear and was omitted from our count.
We found that both actors share just about the same amount of trailer screen time. If the shot above was included in our count, Cranston would have a slight edge.
There was one big hint early on Cranston wouldn't be the movie's main star.
Every other actor in the film received top-billing on the film's poster over Cranston.
It's an incredibly smart move on Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures to put the spotlight on Cranston after his AMC show "Breaking Bad" closed out to record ratings and overwhelmingly positive reviews.
Similarly, DreamWorks' March release "Need for Speed" used its "Breaking Bad" star Aaron Paul to sell that movie, too.
Paul was front and center on the film's poster.
And the first trailer for the film even looked like a continuation of the AMC series.
The film didn't perform well at theaters domestically ($43.1 million), but went on to make $202.9 million worldwide. Paul was the most recognizable and marketable star in the film other than Michael Keaton.
Estimates from Boxoffice.com expect "Godzilla" to make north of $75 million opening weekend.