‘Godzilla 2’ Confirmed At SDCC With Rodan, Mothra, And Ghidorah
Legendary Pictures made a surprise Godzilla announcement at a San Diego Comic-Con 2014 panel on Saturday. The King of All Monsters will return in a sequel under the direction of Gareth Edwards once again. Additionally, some familiar Godzilla friends and foes from the Toho Pictures collection will make their debut as well.
Gareth Edwards confirms he will be back to direct Godzilla 2! #LegendarySDCC #SDCC
— Legendary (@Legendary) July 26, 2014
It’s the news you’ve been waiting for. Monarch confirm Godzilla is not alone. Rodan! Mothra! King Ghidorah! #LegendarySDCC #SDCC
— Legendary (@Legendary) July 26, 2014
Joining #Godzilla in future franchise installments will be several other classic monsters from Toho Co. #LegendarySDCC #SDCC
— Legendary (@Legendary) July 26, 2014
For those unfamiliar, Mothra is a giant flying moth while Rodan is a giant Pteranodon. Both frequently fought alongside Godzilla against King Ghidorah, the three-headed dragon-like space monster that often threatened the Earth either on his own or under the control of aliens.
Edwards is also tied to one of the Star Wars spin-off movies that Disney is currently producing, so the schedule for a Godzilla sequel is currently unknown. However, the announcement that some of the classic monsters will receive the same rebooted treatment that Godzilla did should excite fans.
When Legendary Pictures obtained the rights to make a Godzilla film, it did not come with permission to touch any of the other Toho monsters such as Mothra, Rodan, or King Ghidorah. This led to the creation of the two Muto creatures for the 2014 film.
Gareth’s take on Godzilla did just okay domestically, earning nearly $200 million since its release. That was enough to cover its $160 million budget. However, it did extremely well overseas where it earned an additional $292 million to bring its total gross to $491 million, according to Box Office Mojo.
The acceptance by the Japanese and foreign audience was crucial to Godzilla receiving a sequel. The 1998 Godzilla film produced by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich was so hated by Japanese audiences that they don’t recognize it as a true part of the franchise and was officially renamed “Zilla” by Toho. The iguana-like version of the monster was featured in the final Toho produced Godzilla film, Final Wars, where he was derided by characters on-screen and unceremoniously dispatched by Godzilla in mere seconds.
The other recent giant monster movie, Pacific Rim, will also receive a sequel. Director Guillermo del Toro confirmed that he is directing the follow-up robots versus monster film and is shooting for a 2017 release.
What do you think of the return of the older Toho Godzilla monsters? Will Edwards and his production team be able to give them a modern update like they did with Godzilla himself?
[Image via Unleash the Fanboy]
