You may have guessed, based on THN’s Godzilla Countdown, that I absolutely love Godzilla. He’s even in my Christmas tree this year. With the latest Hollywood reboot just 25 weeks away (who’s counting?) there is already talk of a sequel. However, it wouldn’t be a sequel to the Hollywood film produced by Legendary and Warner Bros., but to the 1971 film GODZILLA VS. HEDORAH or GODZILLA VS. THE SMOG MONSTER as it’s also known. Speaking to Godzilla Fans Universe-G, Yoshimitsu Banno, writer and director of the original GODZILLA VS. HEDORAH and executive producer of the upcoming American version, said that he is working on a sequel:
I am planning the Sequel of GODZILLA VS. THE SMOG MONSTER now. I first started to produce an I-MAX Godzilla movie of only a 40 minute running time, having obtained the permission to use the characters of Godzilla and Hedorah from TOHO Co. Ltd. This project developed to a fundamental theatrical movie thanks to the commitment of Legendary Pictures. The new Hedorah comes out from the toxic sludge contaminated by the radioactive waste from an accident at a nuclear power plant. I wish to realize this film with the collaboration of Godzilla fans from around the world.
Although Banno’s passion eventually turned into the Legendary picture we are going to receive in May, it sounds as though he still retains the rights and has every intention of trying to fund a direct sequel/reboot of his 1970. Hopefully this will be the case and we’ll have both Japanese and American Godzilla films tearing up the box office. GODZILLA VS. HEDORAH is a great Godzilla film that has a slightly funkier edge as well as revolving around issues of pollution rather than nuclear weapons. Fingers crossed kaiju fans.
GODZILLA will be released 16th May 2014. It stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Akira Takarada, and David Strathairn.
Source: Godzilla Fans Universe-G
