Toho Announces New Japanese Godzilla Flick for 2016
Legendary Pictures and Warner Brothers are going to keep us waiting until 2018 for a follow-up to this year’s hit Hollywood revival of the King of the Monsters, but we won’t have to wait quite as long to see Godzilla on the big screen again.
The surprise announcement came Sunday from a variety of news sources, not the least of which being Toho’s official Godzilla website, that the King of the Monsters will be returning to his Japanese roots much sooner than anyone would have expected. Toho Company Ltd. will produce a new “Domestic Godzilla” flick to be released in Japan in 2016.
The decision to produce a new homegrown Godzilla flick was spurred on tremendously by the $500 million worldwide success of the big budget Hollywood reboot, particularly in the monster’s native stomping grounds of Japan.
Aside from the slated 2016 release date, the only other info regarding the production that Toho revealed yesterday was that they’re strongly considering bringing Godzilla to life via computer effects, which would be a first for the 60 years of Japanese Kaiju movies. Of course, they also stated it could end up still being the traditional man-in-suit.
Toho also announced the formation of the “Godzilla Conference,” or “Godzi-Con,” a group that will work on strategies for promoting Godzilla in all facets of media, marketing, and popular culture, not just limited to movies. Overseeing the group will be Toho vice president and general manager Satoshi Senda, 13 Assassins producer Minami Ichikawa, and Trick: The Movie ~ Last Stage producer Taiji Ueda. So, clearly, Toho has bigger plans for Godzilla than just the new film.
The script for the Godzilla’s Japanese rebirth is currently in development, and shooting will begin sometime next year. Expect more details soon.
This is great news for Godzilla fans, but I can’t help but wonder how Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures feel about this and if it will impact plans for their proposed 2018 sequel.
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