Godzilla is an internationally recognized icon, beloved by people all over the world. Created by Toho Pictures, Godzilla first appeared in the film Gojira in 1954. The monster was filmed using an actor in a large latex suit. The film was a huge success and ushered in a whole era of fantasy monster movies from Japan. Godzilla has appeared in 28 films in a career spanning more than 50 years.
1998 brought us the first ever Godzilla film made by an American studio. The Sony/Tri-star Production Godzilla starred Mathew Broderick and was directed by Roland Emmerich. The film was a financial success, but a disappointment with Godzilla fans. Godzilla’s character was drastically changed from his Japanese origins. It was a completely CGI created monster and looked less like a dinosaur and more like a giant iguana lizard. Also gone were Godzilla’s characteristic radioactive fire and invulnerability to military attack. This didn’t go unnoticed in Japan and in 2004’s Godzilla: Final Wars the Japanese Godzilla fights and easily defeats a CGI monster that closely resembled the American Godzilla, referred to as Zilla.
Now, it’s time for America to have another shot at making a Godzilla movie. In March, 2010, Legendary Pictures along with Warmer Brothers Studios announced they are co-producing a new Godzilla movie to be released in 2012. Past collaborations between the two studios have produced such hit movies as The Dark Knight, 300, and Inception. Godzilla fans will be happy to know that Legendary Pictures is keen on avoiding the mistakes of the past. The new movie will have no connection to the Sony film and remain true to the original character. Thomas Tull, chairman and CEO of Legendary Pictures is quoted as saying, “Godzilla is one of the world’s most powerful pop culture icons, and we at Legendary are thrilled to be able to create a modern epic based on this long-loved Toho franchise…Our plans are to produce the Godzilla that we, as fans, would want to see. We intend to do justice to those essential elements that have allowed this character to remain as pop-culturally relevant for as long as it has.” Legendary’s Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni are producing along with Dan Lin, Roy Lee, and Brian Rogers.
This film will be a 3D project, live-action, but with a CGI monster. It will also feature one or more monster opponents. In January, 2011, Legendary Pictures announced they had signed British director Gareth Edwards to helm the project. In October, 2010, the unknown, independent director released Monsters, a sci-fi movie about alien invaders. The movie was shot on a shoe-string budget with only five crew members, including two cast members. Edwards shot the movie himself. Though made on a small budget, the film had a big budget feel and got rave reviews and won Edwards several film awards. Edward’s background is in visual effects and he knows how to effectively use them to tell the story. Monsters used effects sparingly with only glimpses of the aliens through most of the film. The story focused squarely on the two human characters. Now Edwards will bring his fresh talents to work for Legendary on Godzilla, in what is sure to be a huge multi-million dollar picture. There are no details yet as to a script or writer.
