3 Monster Movies That Were Made Better By Adding Godzilla

Despite being a main attraction in every movie, not every Godzilla movie had to feature the King of the Monsters. With a cinematic history spanning seven decades, Godzilla has played a wide variety of roles. He has been the hero, the villain, an antihero, and an unwitting pawn of both the human protagonists and the antagonists.

One thing all of these movies have in common is that he is always one of the biggest selling points, if not the biggest, but along with one of Godzilla’s many allies. That’s the case even when Godzilla’s name doesn’t appear in the title. That aspect of the franchise shows how much certain projects had to change in order to be fully realized. After all, there were three Godzilla movies that started out as movies about other monsters. Godzilla literally had to be added so they could find life on the big screen.

King Kong vs. Godzilla

Original version – Godzilla vs. Frankenstein

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The film that launched the iconic Godzilla-King Kong rivalry originally required the King of Skull Island to fight a different monster. Specifically, he was supposed to fight a giant version of Frankenstein’s Monster. That was the idea hatched by King Kong creator Willis O’Brien, who officially launched the concept in 1958. The plan to Godzilla vs. Frankenstein was rewritten by George Worthing Yates, who modified the character of Frankenstein’s Monster, turning him into a kaiju called “Prometheus.“In the script, King Kong has to save San Francisco by defeating Prometheus, a monster mind-controlled by an evil scientist.

Godzilla from Godzilla vs. Hedorah with Godzilla from Monsterverse

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A failed plan to make a sequel to a 1971 Godzilla film is ultimately what paved the way for Legendary’s Monsterverse to be born in 2014.

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Godzilla vs. Prometheus It ended up in the hands of producer John Beck, who tried to find a studio to back the project. No one in Hollywood was interested in making the film a reality, so Beck turned to Toho, who had built a reputation for monster movies. They agreed to make the movie, but unsurprisingly swapped out Prometheus for their own signature monster, Godzilla. Much of the original story is unrecognizable King Kong vs. Godzillabut its basic premise owes its existence to King Kong vs. Prometheus however.

Ebirah, the horror of the depths

Original Version – Operation Robinson Crusoe: King Kong vs. Ebirah

Godzilla fights Ebirah in the Showa era

In 1966 Ebirah, the horror of the depthsGodzilla becomes trapped in a naval battle with the lobster kaiju Ebirah and the Red Bamboo, a group of island-based villains. Also present was Mothra, who saves the human characters after Godzilla’s victory over Ebirah. But if it weren’t for some significant changes to the script, it would have been King Kong, and not Godzilla, who would have fought Red Bamboo, Ebirah, and Mothra.

While Operation: Robinson Crusoe: King Kong vs. Ebirah never came to fruition, King Kong finally got a second film from Toho. In 1967, Kong fought Mechani-Kong and Gorosaurus in King Kong escapes.

Before making the decision to make Godzilla the film’s antihero, Toho intended to reuse King Kong’s suit from King Kong vs. Godzilla and bring the ape back for a solo movie. This would have been in partnership with Rankin-Bass, the Kong film rights holder at the time. When Rankin-Bass chose not to King Kong vs. EbirahToho had to adjust their plans and subsequently replaced him with Godzilla. This resulted in multiple differences, but traces of Kong’s involvement can still be found in the finished product, such as Godzilla having electrical powers, an ability more closely associated with Toho’s version of King Kong.

Godzilla vs. Mothra

Original version – Mothra vs. Bagan

Godzilla vs Mothra Battra up close

In the early 1990s, there were initial plans for a four-part Godzilla film series that would have incorporated Godzilla, Mothra, and Bagan, a monster that could have been an important addition to Godzilla’s roster of villains. The story was ready to begin with Mothra vs. Baganwhich would have laid the groundwork for a sequel in which Godzilla would fight Bagan. In Mothra vs. BaganIt would have been established that the two monsters clashed thousands of years ago, and in the present day, it is up to Mothra to stop the newly returned Bagan in an intense final battle. A post-credits scene would have triggered the return of Godzilla after his paralysis in Godzilla vs. Biollantmy.

Toho decided to scrap the story due to the studio’s concerns about the potential box office performance of a non-Godzilla kaiju film.

Ultimately, Toho decided to scrap the story due to the studio’s concerns about the potential box office performance of a non-Godzilla kaiju film. However, Toho did not abandon the project completely; instead, Mothra vs. Bagan was used to provide a framework for Godzilla vs. Mothra, with key scenes and some of her characters carried over to the 1992 film. Bagan was replaced by Battra, who was conceived as a counterpart to Mothra. The story was reworked from a one-on-one confrontation between two rivals to a three-way conflict between them in which Godzilla inadvertently gets in the middle.

godzilla poster 1954 tldr vertical

godzilla

The Godzilla franchise, spanning more than six decades, follows the adventures of the titular kaiju, a colossal prehistoric sea monster awakened and strengthened by nuclear radiation. Originally from Japan, Godzilla has evolved from a destructive force of nature to a protector of humanity, battling other giant monsters, including iconic enemies like King Ghidorah, Mothra, and Mechagodzilla. The series explores themes of environmental destruction, nuclear anxiety and human resilience. With numerous films, television series, and an expanding universe, Godzilla remains a cultural icon, captivating audiences around the world with his epic battles and compelling narratives.

Movie(s) Godzilla, Godzilla 2, Godzilla 3, Shin Godzilla, Godzilla, Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla Minus One, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Godzilla Vs King Kong, Godzilla: Tokyo SOS, godzilla: monster planet, Godzilla vs Gigan, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, Godzilla: Final Wars, King Kong vs. Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Godzilla: The Showa Era Films, Godzilla vs. Biollante Created by Tomoyuki Tanaka, Akira Watanabe First Godzilla movie Last movie Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire First episode Air date November 17, 2023 Cast Akira Takarada, Momoko Kôchi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura, Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe , Kurt Russell, Wyatt Russell TV Show(s) Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Expand

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