Why do Heisei Gamera and '94 Tristar Godzilla have so many similarities?

[Lesko]

Great thread as I have been wondering that myself. Even the MV has some similarities between these two. So when it comes down to it I think it is really simple. The formula of a superior race creating a kaiju to combat a serious threat that humanity inherits is just good movie flick archetype. Not overly complicated or ridiculously minimalist. It's a flexible premise that could take many further branches for an entertaining movie. For example comparing the aliens creating Godzilla vs Atlanteans for Gamera. They are both races superior to humanity from a technological sense yet also very different as it is aliens vs terrestial beings.

[Angilasman]

And the MonsterVerse also bears similarity with the unmade American Godzilla 3D film from the early '80s, where Godzilla is a radioactive monster because he's from an earlier, radioactive era in Earth's history - not a mutant.

... has anyone mentioned that yet?

[StreamOfKaijuness]

And the MonsterVerse also bears similarity with the unmade American Godzilla 3D film from the early '80s, where Godzilla is a radioactive monster because he's from an earlier, radioactive era in Earth's history - not a mutant.

... has anyone mentioned that yet?

Additionally, that unmade Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 3-D from the early '80s took place in San Francisco, with Godzilla going ashore after tearing through the Golden Gate Bridge.

[Vakanai]

Perfectly logical. I was less convinced there had to be some connection as much as I was aware that hearsay travels fast in the movie making business even with precautions like trying to keep scripts or concepts from leaking. It did seem to be one very big coincidence to me, I just find the timing of them both a bit head tilting; but not impossible. A bit like how hearsay amongst authors and scriptwriters of a mid-80s boom in dinosaurs both created Carnosaur and Jurassic Park's respective novels, which have a few similarities even if Crichton likely never heard of the former novel.

Really it was mostly stuff like the Gamera '93 story treatment getting a complete overhaul at the near same time the Tristar Godzilla script reached its first complete drafts which made me wonder if someone else knew something more about this subject than I.

They say the same thing happened with Swamp Thing and Man Thing.

[Desghidorah]

Perfectly logical. I was less convinced there had to be some connection as much as I was aware that hearsay travels fast in the movie making business even with precautions like trying to keep scripts or concepts from leaking. It did seem to be one very big coincidence to me, I just find the timing of them both a bit head tilting; but not impossible. A bit like how hearsay amongst authors and scriptwriters of a mid-80s boom in dinosaurs both created Carnosaur and Jurassic Park's respective novels, which have a few similarities even if Crichton likely never heard of the former novel.

Really it was mostly stuff like the Gamera '93 story treatment getting a complete overhaul at the near same time the Tristar Godzilla script reached its first complete drafts which made me wonder if someone else knew something more about this subject than I.

They say the same thing happened with Swamp Thing and Man Thing.

Yep, though both of those were at least partially out prior comic characters like The Heap. I can't think of a shared common ancestor here. So, seems to be just a huge coincidence.

[LegendZilla]

If the Debont Godzilla film had come out, would've kaiju fans everywhere complained over how it ripped off GOTU?

[NSZ]

If the Debont Godzilla film had come out, would've kaiju fans everywhere complained over how it ripped off GOTU?

Due to the average length of the typical Hollywood production cycle back then, I'm pretty sure it would've been vice versa.

[LegendZilla]

If the Debont Godzilla film had come out, would've kaiju fans everywhere complained over how it ripped off GOTU?

Due to the average length of the typical Hollywood production cycle back then, I'm pretty sure it would've been vice versa.

Yeah, but the Debont film wasn't supposed to come out until '96.

[NSZ]

If the Debont Godzilla film had come out, would've kaiju fans everywhere complained over how it ripped off GOTU?

Due to the average length of the typical Hollywood production cycle back then, I'm pretty sure it would've been vice versa.

Yeah, but the Debont film wasn't supposed to come out until '96.

Again, the average length of the typical Hollywood production cycle back then would make that point moot.