Friday, March 18, 2011

Is Legendary Pictures About To Hand GODZILLA Over To Del Toro?

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Source: Bloody Disgusting

The recent tragedy in Japan has forced Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures to rethink two of their upcoming films that deal with both radiation and giant mutant monsters ..... that were spawned by said radiation. Namely "Pacific Rim" and "Godzilla" which now may be facing script rewrites and even possibly sharing the same director ..... that is if one of the films gets scrapped entirely.

It has been leaked by a source close to both projects that the two studios have asked film maker Guillermo del Toro who has just signed on to helm the giant monster film "Pacific Rim" to rewrite the script so that the film no longer takes place in Japan. According to that source, who spilled the beans to the Bloody Disgusting website, del Toro was not too keen on the idea and may tell the suits to pound sand.

The fun doesn't stop there however. Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures are also considering putting "Rim" on the shelf, maybe permanently, in favor of having del Toro take over "Godzilla 3D" instead. Again, the film maker has apparently turned his nose up at that idea as well. Probably due in large part to the fact that "Godzilla 3D" already has a director,
Gareth Edwards, who took over the project in January.

This doesn't sound like very good news to all the legions of fans out there who have been waiting patiently for over a year for this new American Godzilla movie to get rolling.

It looks like there may be stormy seas ahead if the studios shun Edwards and del Toro walks.

Of course there is no need to panic yet, "Godzilla 3D" is still moving forward ..... slowly.

As an extra bonus for all you Godzilla nuts out there I have included three of the upcoming covers for IDW's "Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters". I really love the artwork for both issues #3 and #4 with Godzilla, Rodan and the often misunderstood Anguirus.



2 comments:

  1. You can never tell how much truth there is to these types of rumors, but I've wondered since the Del Toro/PACIFIC RIM story broke how Legendary planned to make two very similar but unrelated giant monster movies in such a short span of time. My feeling for a while has been that somewhere in the offices of Legendary, they were mulling combining the two projects as originally rumored months ago. I also doubt Gareth Edwards will just jump ship if the studio tries to force GODZILLA on Del Toro and he balks. More likely, he;ll recognize that this opportunity is too big to pass up and just swallow his pride.

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  2. I wish the American attempt at making Godzilla films paid greater homage to the legacy of the Japanese Godzilla. The American concept started so strong with the promotional ads. But then we wasted our money going to see a poor imitation of the real King of Monsters! If they do make another one, it's gonna have to be a whole lot better than that garbage they made in 1998 before I get suckered like that again!

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"LEGENDARY PICTURES TO DEVELOP AND PRODUCE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE BASED ON TOHO COMPANY’S ICONIC MONSTER, GODZILLA

Burbank, CA – March 29, 2010 – Legendary Pictures announced today that they will develop and produce a new film based on Toho Company’s famed GODZILLA character. Through the terms of the agreement, Legendary Pictures has acquired the rights to produce a movie inspired by Toho’s Godzilla, a franchise the Japanese company created and has nurtured for over fifty years.

Toho’s GODZILLA franchise boasts one of the most widely recognized film creatures worldwide, resulting in a series of books, television programs, video games and more than 25 films worldwide. Legendary intends to approach the film and its characters in the most authentic manner possible. The company will, in the near future, announce a filmmaker to helm the film for an intended 2012 release. The film will fall under the company’s co-production and co-financing deal with Warner Bros. Toho will distribute the film in Japan."

"Godzilla" is coming back -- this time, with Legendary Pictures taking the lead, co-producing and co-financing with Warner Bros. for release in 2012.

Legendary announced Monday it had obtained rights to the iconic monster character from Japan's Toho Co., which has overseen more than 25 "Godzilla" films. Toho will release the pic in Japan.

Legendary said it's planning to announce a director shortly.

In addition to Legendary, producers on the new film will be Dan Lin, Roy Lee and Brian Rogers. Yoshimitsu Banno, Kenji Okuhira and Doug Davison will exec produce.

"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," said Thomas Tull, Chairman and CEO of Legendary. "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."

Legendary noted the film will fall under its co-production and co-financing deal with Warner Bros. Legendary's productions with Warners have included "The Dark Knight," "300" and "The Hangover."

Speculation about a new "Godzilla" has been active since last summer. The Bloody Disgusting web site reported in August that the project was in development.