In a 2021 interview with RogerEbert.com, “Godzilla vs. Kong” director Adam Wingard discussed bringing the Hollow Earth to life while making sure to avoid any comparisons to “Journey to the Center of the Earth”:
“Well, the trickiest thing about it is when you look at it on the page, it’s basically, ‘Oh, this is a ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ movie, right?’ And that was a big dirty word. Nobody was ever allowed to mention ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ in the offices. Because what that conjures in your head are dark caves and big mushrooms that are oversized and those kind of clichés.“
Whether it’s the 1959 film or the 3D-laced 2008 reboot starring Brendan Fraser, adaptations of Jules Verne’s “Journey To The Center of the Earth” generally amplify the already-existent. Large mushrooms, dinosaurs, crabs, and similar creatures fill out the void at the center of the earth in cave-like scenery. The sci-fi elements are still pretty imaginative when it comes to the Hollow Earth, but Wingard rightfully strayed away from the established norm. Instead, the center of the earth in “Godzilla vs. Kong” is much more fantastical in nature, clearing the way for a whole new world of possibilities.