How come Mechagodzilla & King Ghidorah never teamed up?

[Goji]

The Fake Godzilla suit was a suit used to advertise Megalon, thats why its there.

The Fake Godzilla suit was never used in advertising for MEGALON. It was a publicity suit, and was never actually intended to be used for filming, but ended up being used anyway; probably as a way to cut costs. Whenever the real Godzilla wasn't on screen, they used the primary filming suit (the one that was used in MEGALON, which then received a face lift in MECHAGODZILLA), but whenever both Godzilla's were in the same shot, the publicity suit was used for Fake G.

[TyrantGojira]

^^ The Ghidorah suit had been around since '64 where as the second Anguirus suit was made in '68 and was thus around for much longer. Considering how quickly these suits deteriorate, The Ghidorah suit was probably on it's last legs by '72-'73.

Hmm, you have a good point there.

[kpa]

The info DoctorMafune posted can also be found in Japanese Giants #6 (1980). Ed Godziszewski wrote about meeting Tomoyuki Tanaka while visiting Toho in 1979, and Tanaka said the neither Mechagodzilla nor King Ghidorah would return.

The Japanese film industry was in a severe downturn at that time, so its understandable that Toho didn't want to do anything to drive up production costs. The King Ghidorah suit was huge and expensive to make, and required a large team of operators to control the wireworks for the monster's necks, wings and tails. In the early 1970s Toho had laid off much of their FX staff, and they stopped using characters like Rodan and Mothra that required a lot of wirework. Instead they created monsters like Gigan and Megalon that didn't have flapping wings, and reused Angilas since a suit was newly made in 1968 and didn't require extensive wirework. Monsters that required less work and a small crew kept the costs down.

[Tohosaurus]

Well, with Mechagodzilla only appearing at the end of the original series, there were no additional films for such a partnership to exist for nine years, at which point Toho rebooted Godzilla and went in a different direction.

I wouldn't be opposed to seeing the two team up in the future or anything, although somehow I don't know if we'll get a "space Mechagodzilla" again. Even though that's where the original came from, somehow I see the human created mech/robot idea being more likely for future Mechagodzilla use. So with that in mind, it might never happen. OTOH, if they went with King Ghidorah as a protector of the planet again and Mechagodzilla was also in a similar role, yet created by humans, then maybe the two could challenge Godzilla from the opposite perspective.

[edgaguirus]

A human built MG would work better in that scenario, with KG as the antagonist.

[The One and Only]

Because the audiences' heads would explode from the sheer awesomeness. Thus discouraging repeat viewings.

[Gamera vs Rodan]

When you guys talk budgets and stuff all I can think is how great it'd be if they had a Godzilla kickstarter so the wealthy fans can help Toho keep making new ones.

[DoctorMafune]

Makes sense. It explains why KG just stood there during Godzilla vs Gigan.

That it does.

I haven't watched Gigan in a while, but I do remember one scene, though, in which it looked like Nakano actually had his staff get that KG suit in the air. It's during the attack on Tokyo, with Gigan in the foreground and an airborne Ghidorah floating past in the background. (It sure wasn't that tiny, motionless KG puppet.)

So the budget may only have allowed it for a moment, but that was one of my favorite scenes in the film: Ghidorah and Gigan laying waste to Tokyo, as it should have been.

[three]

personally, even though we have had it explain in terms of reality why the two never teamed up (budget) i like to think it was the same reason MG2 and Godzilla didn't team up to take down Space Godzilla: overkill.

[Killswitch]

The info DoctorMafune posted can also be found in Japanese Giants #6 (1980). Ed Godziszewski wrote about meeting Tomoyuki Tanaka while visiting Toho in 1979, and Tanaka said the neither Mechagodzilla nor King Ghidorah would return.

The Japanese film industry was in a severe downturn at that time, so its understandable that Toho didn't want to do anything to drive up production costs. The King Ghidorah suit was huge and expensive to make, and required a large team of operators to control the wireworks for the monster's necks, wings and tails. In the early 1970s Toho had laid off much of their FX staff, and they stopped using characters like Rodan and Mothra that required a lot of wirework. Instead they created monsters like Gigan and Megalon that didn't have flapping wings, and reused Angilas since a suit was newly made in 1968 and didn't require extensive wirework. Monsters that required less work and a small crew kept the costs down.

Makes sense. It explains why KG just stood there during Godzilla vs Gigan.

Would either one of you know what the individual budgets were for those 1970's films?

[MandaSaurus]

Maybe KG is a bigot & refuses to work with robots?

[MandaSaurus]

Maybe KG is a bigot & refuses to work with robots?

Can you imagine the identity crisis when he becomes Mecha King Ghidorah?

We're talkin' Showa Ghiddy, not Heisei Ghiddy.

[Zubat]

There was not enough budget to use him; or the suit was in too poor condition.

In fact, I'm glad he was not used, look at the "suit'" In Godzilla vs. Gigan; more of that would not have done a Mechgodzilla and King Ghidorah team up justice.

[Killswitch]

The tragedy is that Toho never gave us those two later on during the Heisei or Millennium series. Who wouldn't want to see Godzilla and a buddy face off against MG & KG? Add two more monsters and make it 3 on 3.

[ebirahsmeg1]

The info DoctorMafune posted can also be found in Japanese Giants #6 (1980). Ed Godziszewski wrote about meeting Tomoyuki Tanaka while visiting Toho in 1979, and Tanaka said the neither Mechagodzilla nor King Ghidorah would return.

The Japanese film industry was in a severe downturn at that time, so its understandable that Toho didn't want to do anything to drive up production costs. The King Ghidorah suit was huge and expensive to make, and required a large team of operators to control the wireworks for the monster's necks, wings and tails. In the early 1970s Toho had laid off much of their FX staff, and they stopped using characters like Rodan and Mothra that required a lot of wirework. Instead they created monsters like Gigan and Megalon that didn't have flapping wings, and reused Angilas since a suit was newly made in 1968 and didn't require extensive wirework. Monsters that required less work and a small crew kept the costs down.

I never heard about this comment from Tanaka during 1980...thanks for sharing this info.

Man, I wish would get the long awaited Japanese Giants "Frankenstein Conquers the World" themed issue sometime before I die....

The tragedy is that Toho never gave us those two later on during the Heisei or Millennium series. Who wouldn't want to see Godzilla and a buddy face off against MG & KG? Add two more monsters and make it 3 on 3.

I think they missed a wonderful opportunity in GSOS in using both KG and MG in the same film...it would have been Godzilla's ultimate challenge in taking both of his most powerful foes in one film. Sadly, TOHO opted for a boring (and inferior) remake of MothravsG with MG shoe-horned and Godzilla basically used as MG's punching bag most of the final battle...God, how I loathe GSOS. As a result, we're left with the pathetic runt GMK "KINO" incarnation of KG as the latest representation of KG that sadly seems to be associated with him (i.e. IDW's continued use of this incarnation over and over again) comics and various games (as much as I don't like the Keizer Ghidorah design, as least he "acted" the part)....

[Zillamon51]

It is kind of odd that Toho never went after the money and put all of the "Big Five" in one movie. Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra vs. King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla. Could have been epic. Maybe for the 70th anniversary?

[he-ba]

^Please Toho, we BEG YOU! Maybe even add a couple more, like SpaceGodzilla or Gigan!

[Kaiser]

The problem with putting both Mechagodzilla and King Ghidorah together in a film is that they're both such marquee villains that they would end up stealing screen time away from one another. The fact that the two of them are in the same movie would also diminish the threat they pose in my mind because all their previous incarnations have been so powerful that Godzilla being able to defeat the two of them even with help would be unrealistic in my mind. It's sort of how Spider Man 3 didn't work because we had too many villains with Venom, Sandman and the Green Goblin so the film wasn't really able to do justice to any of them.

[ILL GREEN]

It is kind of odd that Toho never went after the money and put all of the "Big Five" in one movie. Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra vs. King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla. Could have been epic. Maybe for the 70th anniversary?

I would be down for that for the 60 3/4th anniversary.

[he-ba]

The problem with putting both Mechagodzilla and King Ghidorah together in a film is that they're both such marquee villains that they would end up stealing screen time away from one another. The fact that the two of them are in the same movie would also diminish the threat they pose in my mind because all their previous incarnations have been so powerful that Godzilla being able to defeat the two of them even with help would be unrealistic in my mind. It's sort of how Spider Man 3 didn't work because we had too many villains with Venom, Sandman and the Green Goblin so the film wasn't really able to do justice to any of them.

So then why don't we make it a 2/30 hour movie? Ghidorah can just be acquired by the Black Hole aliens and then focus more on MechaG and whatever other monsters there are in the film, including Godzilla. Like GvMG, they focused on Godzilla, MechaGodzilla, and King Caesar at the same time. Spider-Man 3 had a plot that was too Peter-based, not on the villains or even Spider-Man.
Also, why can't Godzilla team up with Rodan and then add maybe KC or even Titano. If Godzilla took MG with KC and KG with Rodan, I think it would be a splendid matchup. (Without any budget problems, obviously)