Sequels to Godzilla (2014): The Current Theories

Godzilla (2014) - Still

With an almighty roar and the thunderous earthquake of gargantuan footsteps, the King of the Monsters smashed his way back onto the big screen this month. The new Godzilla opened to positive reviews, earning a grand total of $196,588,384 worldwide on its opening weekend. Prior to this, few people seriously believed that a film starring the titular titan would ever make that kind of money again, especially not after the 1998 attempt at an American Godzilla film. Indeed, reboots of classic films have been doing somewhat poorly recently; one only has to look at the box office take of RoboCop (2014), for example, to see that. Only the hardcore fans, and perhaps a few deluded nuts like myself, really felt that the newest film could do well. Indeed, so certain were some pundits of the film’s spectacular failure that several magazines ran articles claiming confidently that this would be the case; pundits such as John Furrier, working for Forbes, who claimed that Godzilla would be “the biggest box office bomb of 2014. Godzilla as a character is box office poison.”

Fortunately for fans of the Big G, these predictions of disaster were wrong. With the first movie in the Legendary Series being enough of a success to warrant sequels, the speculation amongst fan communities now turns to the future of the franchise, and what sort of stories we can expect from Gareth Edwards’ next contributions to the Godzilla mythos. Now, Godzilla fans can be a somewhat fiery lot when it comes to their fan theories, with various forums and websites becoming battlegrounds for these daikaiju fanatics as they debate which members of the famous Toho menagerie is likely to appear in the next film. Evidence for any of the suggestions is somewhat scarce at the moment. After all, the sequels have only just been confirmed, let alone fully scripted yet, so to expect clear details right now would be optimistic at best. However, two fan theories in particular have surfaced that seem to have greater credibility than others, and it’s these ideas that this article will be focussing on.

Mothra

It didn’t take long for the cast of Godzilla to start talking about sequels, did it? Even before the opening of his first attempt, director Gareth Edwards had already discussed the idea of a second film, mentioning that the idea of a “Destroy All Monsters” follow-up was one he rather liked. Immediately, fans latched onto the creature that some had first thought would appear in Godzilla (2014), Mothra. In some ways, the moth-slash-nature deity seems like an obvious choice; with a brief allusion made to her in the first film and cast members such as Aaron Taylor-Johnson even nodding to the idea in an interview he gave with Cinemablend.com, it would seem that there is a strong possibility Edwards and company may choose to utilise her in a sequel. That said, Mothra is also something of a difficult character to mesh with the pseudo-realism of the Legendary series. From her first film appearance in Mothra (1961) onwards, Mothra has been depicted as a blatantly deific creature, tied to images of ritual and nature worship. While the MUTOs and Godzilla himself were presented as ancient beasts reawakened by the advent of nuclear energy on the surface, it would appear to be a much harder task to reconcile Mothra’s existence and the role of the Shobijin with these pseudo-scientific origins, and the inclusion of deities in a chapter of the franchise that seems focussed on reality may test the audiences’ suspension of disbelief a little too much.

Mothra
Mothra, in her latest form

There are still several very strong points in favour of Mothra’s inclusion in the new timeline, of course. The presence of pseudo-realism does not necessarily mean that we won’t see everyone’s favourite nature goddess/giant insect any time soon. The scriptwriters managed to successfully modernise the concept of Godzilla, and while the idea of giant radiation-eating monsters may seem more plausible at first glance than nigh-immortal insect gods, it might not actually be so great a stretch to modernise Mothra so that she fits into this new trend, while still maintaining her status as a metaphor for nature’s power. Indeed, given that the newest films have adopted a greater focus on the idea of humanity’s arrogance before nature, it seems only fitting that she appear in the sequels. If anything, these environmentalist themes add even greater credence to the idea of a Mothra appearance, and while adapting the original concept to a new, admittedly more pseudo-realistic setting would be difficult, it’s not impossible in the hands of a good writing team. The only Toho daikaiju arguably better suited to an environmentally-focussed Godzilla film series would be Hedorah, and as Mothra’s fame eclipses the smog monster’s own, deciding which one is more likely to be utilised is easy enough.

Furthermore, due to both the comments of the cast and of course the brief easter egg referencing her in the first of these films, it’s pretty clear that the moth goddess is one of the big names being tossed around by Edwards and Legendary. Indeed, as will be discussed in much greater detail later, Edwards’ comments on what sort of concept he’d like to use for a sequel lend even greater weight to the possibility of Mothra’s inclusion in the new franchise. As a result of all this, her appearing in at least one of the upcoming films seems to be a fairly safe bet even without any official word on the matter, though she’s not the only famous face that fans believe will be chosen.

King Ghidorah

There is another fan theory that’s gained a lot of traction, and this one involves the aforementioned three-headed dragon. Now, unlike Mothra, Ghidorah has not come up in the interviews conducted by the cast, nor has Edwards specifically mentioned him in any way that might indicate his appearance in sequels. Indeed, compared to the more talked-about Mothra, Ghidorah seems like something of an even more unusual and frankly unlikely choice; at least, until a recent discovery on the website MUTOresearch.net came to light. This site, a viral marketing website set up by Legendary to promote the film and generate interest, displays messages depending on what is typed into it. Fans discovered that when the names “Monster X” and “Monster Zero” were typed into it, a message that differed significantly from the others; whereas normally the system would state that it could “neither deny or confirm the existence of this lifeform,” when these specific messages are typed in they instead warn of the creature’s approach. Now, it’s worth noting that this also occurs if you type in the word “monster.” Perhaps the system is simply responding to the presence of this word in the phrase being typed in. However, there is further evidence to support the idea of Ghidorah, in one form or another, appearing in the Legendary timeline. Typing in “Kaiser Ghidorah” or “Keizer Ghidorah” brings up an even more interesting slew of responses, ranging from a denial of access to “private files” to outright informing the person typing that they’ve been blocked by outside interference. Furthermore, typing in “Astro-monster,” another of Ghidorah’s many aliases, results in a similarly chilling message.

King Ghidorah
King Ghidorah, in his classic form

What fans have taken away from this, besides the fact that it’s great fun to pretend to hack into the files of MONARCH, is that Ghidorah was either a favourite of the people who set that website up or that Gareth Edwards has bigger plans for the space dragon. Ghidorah, much like Mothra, is a highly recognisable member of the Toho menagerie, and if there’s anything Legendary will be looking for in future monsters, it’ll be that. Ghidorah also has the distinction of being one of the monsters fans generally identify as being Godzilla’s arch-nemesis, and as a result if Edwards wants to pit the King of the Monsters against something that could really challenge his might, he could do far worse than the space dragon as a choice.

Overall, given the contrast between Toho’s famous reaction to the last American attempt at a Godzilla movie and their pleasure at the newest one, this can only be construed as a good sign for Edwards’ future visions of the project. That said, Ghidorah’s origins are even more confusing than Mothra’s; at times he’s either been an alien time-travel experiment, a menace from the stars responsible for Venus being unable to support life or even an ancient Japanese guardian deity. Here we once again have to trust in the writing team who’ll tackle these next films and their ability to encourage suspension of disbelief, should Ghidorah be picked. They managed it with the MUTOs in the first film, after all, and while a writer hasn’t yet been confirmed for the sequels, it stands to reason that Edwards will want to carry on pleasing Toho by staying true to their visions of the characters, given both the boost it would give his career and the fact that he’s a rather big fan of these old movies himself.

Destroy All Monsters

Interestingly, the fact that so many rumours are focussing around Mothra and King Ghidorah ties rather interestingly into earlier comments made by Edwards regarding the kind of follow-up film he’d like to make, which he made before sequels were officially greenlit. When asked, he mentioned that he would like to use the same concept as Destroy All Monsters did at some point, particularly with regards to Monster Island. Interestingly, both Mothra and Ghidorah have something of a history of conflict independent of Godzilla himself; in the Rebirth of Mothra series, the most common foe Mothra and Mothra Leo fight is a Ghidorah form of some description, and both the original Destroy All Monsters and Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster feature battles between the two as part of the plot. Indeed, if Gareth Edwards was serious when he commented that he’d love to use the Monsterland concept in Destroy All Monsters, then it seems very likely that he will also seek to use some of the more famous daikaiju that appeared in that film.

Gareth Edwards and Akira Takarada
Gareth Edwards and Akira Takarada meet in front of Toho Studios’ Godzilla mural.

Of course, this concept hinges on one thing, as mentioned above; Toho’s willingness to allow their other monstrous film stars to be used. If Legendary cannot secure rights to utilise Mothra, Ghidorah or any other members of that particular stable, then these fan theories, however well thought out, will ultimately amount to nothing. As mentioned before, Edwards’ first effort got a very positive reception from Toho, but while this is a good sign for those of us wanting to see more classic Godzilla monsters in the sequels, until official word is released these rumours will remain just that. While it is also possible that Toho will withhold the rights to their stable of characters once more and thus force Edwards’ team to come up with some more new additions to the family, after his first outing with the king of the monsters was a critical success it would appear that Toho refusing to allow their other creations to be used is the more unlikely scenario. As a result, it’s hoped amongst fan communities that the restrictions will be lifted on which daikaiju Legendary have the rights to use – after all, neither of these theories really work if Edwards doesn’t have the legal permission to use the featured monsters in the first place.

If this article can make any point with certainty, it’s that there seems to be a great deal of enthusiasm amongst monster fans for the appearances of both Mothra and King Ghidorah in the upcoming Godzilla sequels, and some indication that the support for these monsters isn’t purely a fan-based thing. Ultimately, of course, it’s still very much up in the air whether or not any classic Toho daikaiju will make an appearance in Edwards’ next entries into the Legendary series. After all, as was stated at the start of this article, with the first film only having been released in the USA and Western Europe a month ago, it’s highly doubtful that any serious script-work has been completed yet beyond a basic level, let alone finished enough for the Big G’s enemies to have been selected. Of course, fan theories never need any grounding in evidence to take off – and given that both of these two theories seem to have a surprising amount of weight behind them already, who knows? Perhaps we’ll be hearing the beating of enormous wings and the shrieks of multiple heads again sooner than we might expect.

What do you think? Leave a comment.

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Sean is a comic book devotee, and a pretty dedicated one at that. He is also an avid fan of slightly cheesy and very dated horror films, especially if they have huge monsters.

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71 Comments

  1. Danny Cox

    Enlightening article Sean, well done! Mothra might just be the strangest of all giant super-villains. I was impressed with the imagery of Godzilla in the film, especially how he appears to retain much of the original body shape and recognizable features, while not appearing cheesy or seeming to tip his hat too much towards the earlier films.

  2. Godzilla 2: Mothra/Battra
    Godzilla 3: Biollante/Rodan
    Godzilla 4: King Ghidorah/Ebirah
    Godzilla 5: Destroyah/Gigan

    • Sean Hodges

      I have to admit, there’s a bit of me that wants to see Gigan reimagined in a modern style!

    • I say 3 with both Biollante and Rodan. Having Rodan as an mutual ally to Godzilla, only to have him betray or cause more damage to the Cities forcing Godzilla to take him down or put him in his place. Also think it wouldn’t be wise to have both Battra and Mothra in the same movie for their 1st appearance because it might end up like Godzilla vs Mothra where Battra starts off evil, saves Mothra from Godzilla then they throw him back into the sea….

  3. I kinda hope they hire a new writing team to help improve the script and make sure the human characters are just as interesting as the monsters wrecking havoc. And no more holding back Godzilla. Show him in all his fury fighting against Mothra or Ghidorah. The action and direction were stellar by Edwards, but if it had a stronger script and gave the actors more to do than just look up all scared at the monsters, then it’d be a much better movie. Biggest mistake was killing off Heisenberg and not having him play off of Watanabe’s character and patch up his relationship with his son.

    • Sean Hodges

      Honestly, I feel the decision to kill off Cranston’s character was one of the better ones the film-makers could have made. I mean, think about it this way; he would have overshadowed the other cast members quite badly had he lived – hell, even in your comment you can’t help but refer to him as Heisenberg! – and it would have detracted from the story in the long run.

      That said, a desperate battle against a monster much stronger than Godzilla is could be just the ticket for these sequels to build upon the first one.

    • I had the same thoughts. The film lost focus after that point. It sort of lacked a protagonist.

  4. Emile Kidwell
    0

    I loved how much the beginning of the movie reminded me of Jurassic Park. Definitely felt a “Classic Spielberg” vibe in different parts. Can’t wait for the next one!

    • So glad I wasn’t the only one who thought this. Seeing that in theaters made me that more excited to see Jurassic World next year.

  5. What I hope for from the sequels, is that there is a film where there are multiple Godzillas. Maybe have them fight for territory, much like bears do. Or have a huge battle between multiple Godzillas against multiple King Ghidorahs. That would be EPIC!

    • Sean Hodges

      Well, who knows? Spacegodzilla and Mechagodzilla are also famous members of the Toho menagerie. Heck, perhaps they’ll even use the idea of other members of Big G’s species surviving like you suggested. That WOULD be epic!

  6. Godzilla was awesome just wish there was actually more Godzilla in the movie.

    • Sean Hodges

      In the defence of the film, most Godzilla movies are paced like this. The original pretty much exposes it’s Godzilla for the same length of time. I feel what they did was the right choice, as the battle at the end of the film was all the sweeter for it.

  7. If the human story was any good it would have paid off but sadly that wasn’t the case..also I feel too much godzilla not such a good idea

    • Sean Hodges

      I didn’t see what was wrong with the human story, really. I mean, it was the classic “holy hell monsters” setup most Godzilla movies use, after all, and it works well here as it’s done in the past, I’d argue.

  8. Rodrick Orr
    0

    Seeing this movie, just reminded me how much I love this storied franchise.

  9. Nice!!! In Godzilla 2 they dnt have to tease him anymore and the build up towards the approach of the monsters can be more brief this time around.

    • Sean Hodges

      I agree! Hopefully instead of a build towards Godzilla, Edwards will instead spend the time building his enemy into a menace the audience believes genuinely CAN beat the Big G at his own game. Now THAT would be a great cinematic spectacle.

  10. I’m all for a sequel!

    I still can’t believe people think this movie was a let down. The slow reveal was awesome! Monster movies now a days need to go back to basics like Jaws and Alien. Godzilla shouldn’t even be in the same sentence as. Pacific Rim. The 1998 film was terrible. Viewers are so spoiled now a days. I too am guilty in which I live mindless action, but movies like this are needed once in awhile.

    Gareth Edwards did this film franchise justice.

    • I don’t like how people are comparing the slow reveal to jaws and alien. In those movies we don’t know what to expect. We haven’t seen the monster yet. We all know what Godzilla looks like though and his slow reveal has been done other times before.

      • Sean Hodges

        That’s true, and a fair point. That said, I think the real crux of the issue is that Edwards was clearly trying to create a film that would feel familiar to people who’d watched the original Godzilla, and that’s why the pacing and monster reveals are similar.

  11. Great article! Kinda curious to see how they decide to follow up on Godzilla. They already did the “man’s arrogance” message in the first film. I guess they could do a message about how man never learns from it mistakes (just look at human history we do the same dumb mistakes again and again).

    My only hope is that they don’t listen to the people who just want to see Godzilla fighting something every 5 minutes. I’m sorry those movies bore me and why did you people go and watch it when you know it was paying homage to the 1954 film which had very little Godzilla screen time?

    Yes I will agree that the human characters fell apart in the second act, but I’d say that was a writer problem with not making Bryan Cragton’s characters death have more impact.

    • Sean Hodges

      I’d have to agree! Unfortunately, there were times where the human characters fell a little flat. Seeing as this was effectively Edwards’ first outing on the blockbuster scene, I can’t help but feel people are being overly harsh with the film overall; that, and I do think some of the writing was a little hokey towards the end.

      That said, you’re spot on when it comes to the “I paid to see the monster” crowd. Godzilla (2014) essentially follows in the traditions of Jaws, Alien (both of which showed the title monster for less screen time than it did) and of course it’s own predecessor, Godzilla (1954).

    • Don’t worry, Gareth said before the release of Godzilla that if he is ever going to make a sequel it will follow the same build-up formula as the first one.

  12. Tristan
    0

    Godzilla comes back as a Jedi to fight King Ghidorah

  13. Godzilla was the worst movie ive seen in a while. A godzilla movie thats about people looking at godzilla from shitty angles and on tv screens. This movie was garbage

    • Sean Hodges

      It’s almost as if it followed the usual formula for a Godzilla film or something. Don’t get me wrong, you’re entitled to dislike the film, but I am also entitled to disagree with you.

  14. New Godzilla looked badass in some shots and in some it looked like a big giant OLD monster with wobbly chin. I must admit the screen presence of the Godzilla is very short and at one stage I thought it is going to loose or die with the amount of stabbing that is inflected on it by the other 2 monsters. It is an average movie at best and nothing more. Movie starting is painfully slow where there is prolonged dialogue/drama before the Godzilla finally appeared.

    • Sean Hodges

      I’ve found generally that the people who thought Godzilla’s screen time was short seemed to have been expecting another Pacific Rim. Frankly, I’d have to disagree; while some of the cast really could have done with better dialogue, I feel that if you’re going to have a monster movie it has to be rooted in human drama or else it just becomes an entirely pointless 2 hour long WWE wrestling match.

      Also, in which scenes did Godzilla look old to you? I’m curious, as I can’t think of any that come to mind immediately.

  15. Noe Loy
    0

    Legendary is a really awesome company. I like the way they do things.

  16. Jemarc Axinto

    I love the article! Would it be too much to hope for a mecha-Godzilla? Probably, but I can dream.

    • Sean Hodges

      If only, eh? Sadly, Mechagodzilla might bring the franchise a little too close (in superficial appearance) to Pacific Rim, and while most of us would have no problem with that, I imagine Edwards doesn’t want to directly compete with del Toro’s monster movie.

  17. Well there wasn’t enough Godzilla in the damn movie.

    • Sean Hodges

      Again, I feel obliged to point out that this was kind of the point, that the director wanted to build up the Big G’s appearance. It’d be like complaining that there wasn’t enough shark in Jaws, or alien in Alien, or even Godzilla in Godzilla (1954) if we’re really getting technical.

    • Alden Negron
      0

      I just watched Godzilla:King of the Monsters from 1956,(which Godzilla-2014 is a reboot of) on Netflix,and for those people who are complaining that there was “not enough Godzilla” in Godzilla,really need to watch the original,both movies had pretty much the same tone and pace,of course the main difference between the two is that the newest Godzilla is a savior,and earth’s protector like he was in his films from the late 60s and early 70s,instead of its destroyer. In the 1956 Godzilla,he did not show up in the film until about 30 to 35 minutes,and even then it was only a glimpse. Godzilla’s full-on attack on Tokyo did not happen until near the end of the movie,right before(SPOILER ALERT) he was later destroyed,by Dr.Sherizawa’s oxygen destroyer weapon. I really enjoyed Godzilla (2014),I thought this movie hit all of the right Godzilla notes. I for one think Godzilla 2 and 3 will be well worth the wait,of course I would rather have more Godzilla sooner,rather than later,but what can you do? I say lets just enjoy the epic movie that Legendary Pictures and Gareth Edwards,has given us now.

  18. Kris Hollins
    0

    Gareth Edwards is a great director despite everything that was wrong with Godzilla. Hopefully the sequel will have a better screenwriter and Gareth will drop that ‘less is more’ crap and show the monster carnage without interruption. I nearly lost my shit in the theater when Godzilla first encounters the Muto and, instead of showing their epic first fight, the scene cuts to Ford’s dumb-ass kid watching it on TV.

    • Sean Hodges

      I definitely think they need a more solid writer for the sequels. That said, it seems unlikely that the “less is more” approach will be used in future films, as they’ve already established Godzilla now; what’s more likely is that he’ll keep the human drama element in the movie while simultaneously building up the enemy he’s chosen for Big G in the next few movies, I reckon.

  19. I’m still waiting for that cross between Pacific Rim and Godzilla. That would probably be the best kaiju action film ever made. The story could relate to the portals opening all over the world and kaiju continually pour through; jaegers are now mass produced and fight them off effectively, but class 5 kaijus are far more common and are able decimate whole cities. But as it turns out the emitted energy from the portals actually awaken Godzilla from his slumber, and he goes to intercept the kaiju and jaegers that get in his way in his quest to restore balance. He has no agenda other than to protect nature’s interests, as the kaiju and their creators intend on draining the planet of it’s resources they are the enemy. Despite Godzilla taking on and epically taking on class 5 and onwards Kaiju, the global military would have to then decide whether he is a saviour or destroyer. This is how I would do it anyway.

    • As long as they include Jet Jaguar, the mech from Godzilla Vs, Megalon.

  20. Godzilla vs. Rancor!

  21. Godzilla 2014 people complain that Godzilla its just in 15 minutes of the movie

    Godzilla 2 people complain about overused cgi and too much destruction

    Godzilla 3 balanced and people finally like it

  22. Man Edwards is one hell of a luckey guy he started of making a 500,000$ Indi film now look at him directing two of his most favorite movie franchise. God speed mr. Gareth god speed.

  23. I would love to see Garreth try to get some rights to the other Toho monsters would just be AMAZING! The Third Act truly makes Godzilla, and I wish him the best of luck with Star Wars and GODZILLA 2!!!!!!!!!

    Imagine just seeing King Ghidorah ON THE SCREEN IN IMAX ah I must go change my pants.

  24. We’re throwing our own theories in this article’s reddit thread:
    http://www.reddit.com/r/GODZILLA/comments/28l26q/sequels_to_godzilla_2014_the_current_theories/

  25. Can we not get retreads of previous movies? Godzilla was already a dying franchise trying to reuse those old monsters. Edwards just resurrected it, and all the fanboys are begging to go back to what wasn’t working.

    • Sean Hodges

      In fairness, what wasn’t working about the Millenium Series wasn’t so much that it was the same as the old stuff, but that it was a series in which each film was a reboot of the entire franchise and thus there wasn’t much for audiences to latch onto. Some of the weakest Godzilla movies are to be found in the Millenium Series, in my opinion, All Monsters Attack notwithstanding.

      • 6/10/15-No. I agree with Wooten. The best thing about GODZILLA 2014 is that the MUTOs are original monsters that we have never seen before. Consequently, this was a new movie. We didn’t know if G was in deep or not. We didn’t know if G was going to survive. We didn’t know if G would WIN! Original monsters make for original movies, new cinematic experiences, and bigger ticket sales.

        Wooten is right. Why return to a broken formula? I am posting this long after the “monster cast” of the new movie, which is currently supposed to hit theaters June 8, 2018, has been announced. When I heard that it was going to be Mechagodzilla, King Ghidorah, and Mothra, I felt a huge let-down. We’ve already seen GODZILLA 2 before the script is even written! I want more original monsters!

        The best monster from the old movies is Biollante; by far the most original enemy for the Big G and by far the most compelling and human story of any except the original GOJIRA film. I don’t want to go into what makes GODZILLA V. BIOLLANTE one of the best G movies because I don’t want to ruin it for anyone who hasn’t seen it. If you’re curious, check it out!

        The Millenium Series was not, actually, composed of a series of reboots. They were re-makes of all the older G movies. I think a good way to look at some of them is as “parallel universe” episodes. But now Legendary is just going to do the same thing? Why should we pay to watch “updated effects” with the same old stories and the same old monsters?

        I don’t intend to do any such thing. I sincerely hope that the monster cast is changed to feature all original monsters, possibly excepting Mothra as an ally since Edwards did refer to Mothra in GODZILLA. Godzilla needs to be tested by new and unknown enemies so the outcome will be in doubt. This is just good story-telling. How many times must he beat Ghidorah to prove his superiority to you?

        • EDIT: Sorry, it is Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah in GODZILLA 2.

  26. marcelz
    0

    Yes!! This movie was too good to not get a sequel. Best thing of all its a true godzilla movie-there could be multiple sequels with various other epic enemy monsters. Oh, man!

  27. Godzilla is truly The King. The American Godzilla franchise has been born! I’m up for any of these theories coming into reality!

  28. moar godzilla less people in part two!!!!

  29. Godzilla needs to be in his own movie longer than 8 minutes.

    And when he fights other monsters, I’d like to actually “see” the fights not cut away just because you think it’s more dramatic that way.

    When one the taglines for your movie is “Let Them Fight”, how about “You Let Me See Them Fight.”

    • Sean Hodges

      Someone actually analyzed the lengths of time Godzilla appears in both this film and the original, and found that he appeared in both films for roughly the same length of time.

      Perhaps the problem doesn’t so much lie with the film, but with the fact that audiences don’t expect blockbusters to try to be anything other than Bay-style action these days?

  30. ErinDumas
    0

    Let’s be honest, when the Muto turned around and you saw the blue light in the background, you knew it was comin. ATOMIC BREATH! And damn did it look good!

  31. fepounsberry
    0

    Unfortunately, in an interview with IGN the director told them that he would NEVER show an already known monster but he would influence his original monsters off of the existing monsters. The only way Rodan and Mothera are going to see the big screen again is if a company buys the rights to them and makes a solo movie or Toho makes a solo movie/pulls Godzilla from Legendary and adds them.

    • Sean Hodges

      Granted, but Edwards also said that he did not want to do sequels, preferring instead to make a single solidly made film than set up a franchise. Clearly he changed his mind about that at some point, so why not about this too?

  32. Godzilla was amazing… when he did his signature roar for the first time, I think I stopped breathing. Hopefully the second is just as good if not better!

  33. Giovanni Insignares

    The one thing I couldn’t help but think (and laugh about a little) throughout the entire film was just how the East Coast of the U.S. would be watching the destruction that Godzilla and the MUTOs were making. This is why in the sequel I believe that the filmmakers will have the East Coast cities pay their due.

  34. Christopher Sycamore

    I liked the article alot and I’m excited for the sequels, but I don’t agree with the assertion that everyone through the film would flop except for a select few.

    As soon as the first teaser trailers emerged, I thought the general consensus was that the film was due to be a smash hit.

    • Sean Hodges

      That’s a fair comment. I was more referring to the trend in critic circles to outright condemn the movie before it had actually been released on the grounds that previous Godzilla movies didn’t do well in the box office, which was a fairly common statement. I probably should have worded that better, all in all.

  35. While I was very happy with this movie, I’m not sure how much I’d like to see another. It seemed like this movie did a good job of showing us a different kind of Godzilla movie that focused a bit more on the human characters than on the monsters. But, I do also agree that it would’ve been fun to see more of Godzilla and if there is a sequel that will have him facing off against some beast mano a mano, then I’d certainly be tempted to see it.

  36. HarrisonChute

    I’m sure plenty others here have mentioned the prospective crossover between Godzilla and Pacific Rim. Now that there’s a Pacific Rim 2, and a map for that franchise, I wonder.

    Like with the Hesei series, I wouldn’t mind seeing revisions of old monsters. Particularly if MUTO is Edwards’s idea of a new one.

  37. Katie Brown

    Great Article! I am definitely looking forward to a sequel or too. I really liked this Godzilla…even if I thought that the people were a little unnecessary and ultimately just distracting from the reason everyone was seeing the movie: Godzilla himself!

  38. Joe Manduke
    MerlinTheMighty
    0

    Mothra would be a logical choice. Though seeing her as a villain would be something unique for the series. I feel Ghidorah is an antagonist that needs to be built up.

  39. Or they could make a bid for the 6-10 year old demographic and add in Godzilla Jr from Revenge…

  40. I would honestly be game to see Godzilla kick any of these guys’ butts. Edwards just has to be careful not to overdo it like previous monster movies have by putting too many villains in at once.

  41. If one wanted to be hyper-creative, one could just create a new rival monster to Godzilla.

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