The sequel to Godzilla vs. Kong has been confirmed to start filming later this year in Australia.

The original 2021 monster film, which became a big box office hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, forms part of Legendary’s MonsterVerse franchise, and starred Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall and Brian Tyree Henry.

• READ MORE: Godzilla vs. Kong review: monster mash ’em up is mighty good fun

The follow-up has now been announced to commence production in late 2022 in Queensland, Australia, according to ScreenDaily, following in the footsteps of Godzilla vs. Kong and predecessor film Kong: Skull Island in 2016.

A director for the sequel is yet to be confirmed, though the previous film’s director Adam Wingard has expressed an interest.

Speaking on the filming news, producer Eric McLeod said: “The highly skilled crews, first-rate facilities, and unique locations make filming in Australia a great experience.”

Upon Godzilla vs. Kong‘s release last March, the film became North America’s highest-grossing film of the pandemic era at that moment, overtaking then-previous record-holder Tenet. It also scored the biggest US opening weekend in over a year since the pandemic began. The film ended up making over $468million (£356million) worldwide in total.

“We’re thrilled that Godzilla vs. Kong is bringing audiences back into theaters where they are open around the world, and also delivering for our HBO Max subscribers in their homes here in the U.S.,” Chairman, Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich said at the time.

In NME‘s four-star review of Godzilla vs. Kong, we said: “We needed this. The last time there was a proper summer blockbuster it was 2019 – with an endless winter of closed cinemas and missed release dates dragging on for more than a year now.

“Godzilla vs. Kong might not be perfect, but there’s no better way to signal the return of big, silly, expensive thrills than watching history’s greatest giant monsters body slam each other through a city for two hours.”