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Godzilla remake on the way


31 March 2010

The last time Godzilla strode on to Western screens, it was thanks to Roland Emmerich, Dean Devlin and Sony, and arrived in cinemas in 1998 to a resounding thud of disapproval. But now Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures are aiming to wipe the slate clean with their take on the giant, (hopefully) atomic breath-spouting beast.

Confirming a report first offered by the lads at Bloody Disgusting, the two companies have now closed a deal with Japanese owners Toho to bring the iconic monster back to life, presumably in 3D. And probably IMAX 3D, to boot. Though they’d only be the second team to try that: director Yoshimitsu Banno who made 1971’s Godzilla Vs Hedorah, has secured funding for a 3D IMAX 40-minute version due next year.

Godzilla, the giant fire-breathing monster who wreaked havoc on New York in Roland Emmerich's special effects-laden 1998 film, is to return to the big screen next year, reports Variety. The new version will be based more closely on the original Japanese depiction of the gargantuan lizard, who has appeared in more than 20 films since debuting in 1954.

"Godzilla is one of the world's most powerful pop culture icons, and we are thrilled to be able to create a modern epic based on this long-loved Toho franchise," said Thomas Tull of Legendary Pictures, which is co-producing the project with Warner Bros. "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."

Ishiro Honda's 1954 film, titled Gojira, depicted the monster unleashing devastation on Japan after being mutated due to atomic radiation exposure. In later films, he defended the nation from attacks by other monsters.

No director has yet been attached to the new project, but an announcement is said to be imminent. Likewise, the film does not yet have a cast. Toho, the studio which worked on the original films, will release the movie in Japan.

Emmerich's 1998 reimagining, which starred Matthew Broderick, was not popular in the land of Godzilla's birth: Ken Satsuma, who pulled on a suit to play the monster in a number of films, walked out of the movie's Japanese premiere , reportedly claiming "it's not Godzilla, it does not have the spirit".

Emmerich's take was also not a spectacular box-office success, despite expectations of a Jurassic Park-style bounty. Despite a $130m budget, it took just $136m in the US and $242m abroad.

"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," Legendary chief Thomas Tull tells the Heat Vision Blog. "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." Let’s hope that this time, plot does matter as well as size when the thing arrives in 2012.

Godzilla Film Page