What if the series continued?

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Ivo-goji
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What if the series continued?

Post by Ivo-goji »

What if there was no interregnum between 2004 and 2014 and Toho kept up with more entries in the Millennium series until Shin Gojira?

I could imagine Toho recycling monsters like Anguirus and Rodan from Final Wars for further movies (I mean they already milked Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Mechagodzilla for all they were worth). We probably would have gotten a couple more original kaiju, which is the most interesting possibility to think about. If Tezuka directed again, I have a feeling we would have seen a replacement for Kiryu at some point- either a new giant robot or a Millennium version of Moguera- potentially really cool.
Of kaiju not featured in Final Wars, I think Megalon stood the biggest chance of making a come back. He would have been a good opponent for a film that deliberately homaged the 70s era campiness, though probably we would have gotten something more serious. Less likely but not impossible would be Godzilla facing off against the Space Amoeba Bros; I could see them having their origin reworked like the Meganulons' were, plus we saw one of them in Tokyo SOS.
Mostly I think there would be original monsters though. They couldn't have repeated themselves more than they already did.
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Re: What if the series continued?

Post by edgaguirus »

Toho had already learned that new monsters didn't always translate into big box office numbers. However, if there had been more, I can see them bringing back old monsters With Baragon's popularity, he would have probably been seen again.
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Ivo-goji
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Re: What if the series continued?

Post by Ivo-goji »

The kaiju I see as most likely to be revived in this scenario are Moguera, Megalon, Gezora, and maybe Varan.

Baragon getting a second appearance in the Millennium series isn't out of the question, but I doubt he would have gotten a bigger role than he had in GMK.
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Re: What if the series continued?

Post by Rodan »

We probably would have gotten a handful of interesting films hampered by quick turn-around times and studio requirements a la GMK, and several more painfully mediocre ones.

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Gojira1604
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Re: What if the series continued?

Post by Gojira1604 »

Couldn't have been very impressionable films, wouldn't they be low budget since Final Wars had such a big one and Toho went kinda bankrupt.

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tbeasley
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Re: What if the series continued?

Post by tbeasley »

In a way it has continued, G2014, Shin, Monster Planet all go in different directions much like the Millennium series and G84 before it did.
Toho has been 'rebooting' Godzilla before reboots were even a thing!

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Re: What if the series continued?

Post by Destorogoji »

Yeah, like tbeasley said, in a way it has continued, we already have three different kind of films within their own realities.
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Re: What if the series continued?

Post by Gojira1604 »

Fantasy Post 04 Millennium ideas:
2005: Kiryu's solo movie. He defends Japan against the Mysterian's Mogera, but Kiryu is acting of its own free will.
2006: Godzilla GMK sequel: Godzilla regenerates back to life and attacks Okinawa, is once again defeated by King Caesar.
2007: Always Sunset on Third Street but Godzilla is real and just slightly more integral to the story. Just acknowledged as a historical event that, happened.
2008: Godzilla Vs GTS Zilla Animated film special.
2009: Another Godzilla Vs King Ghidorah movie. Sequel to G2K & GXM, tying both together.
2010: Godzilla Vs Gamera: Finally
2011: Another Godzilla disaster (reboot?) flick in the same vain as G84 & Shin Godzilla.
2012: Godzilla 3D to the Max: Sequel to the previously mentioned film. Godzilla Vs hoards of Smog Monsters like Deathla & Hitodah.
2013: Final Wars Animated Sequel: Invasion of the Trilopods.
2014: Second Final Wars Animated Sequel: Basically a Godzilla Vs Megalon remake.
2015: Last Final Wars Animated Sequel: Godzilla & Friends Vs a Final Boss (IDK who, either Bagan, Spacegodzilla or King Ghidorah)

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Re: What if the series continued?

Post by Arbok »

edgaguirus wrote: Thu Oct 06, 2016 9:26 pmToho had already learned that new monsters didn't always translate into big box office numbers.
I feel like Toho failed to grasp what helped propel one of their biggest movies ever, Godzilla vs. Mothra, which was a combination of a new monster in the form of Battra paired with a returning popular monster with Mothra. It's an approach that should have been tried more.
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Re: What if the series continued?

Post by SoggyNoodles2016 »

Speaking honestly, nothing would have. The Millenium series was already failing and they agreed to make Final Wars a last hurrah no matter what the box office was.

Personally, if Final Wars was a success and the era, I would imagine we'd get some movies aping that style ala how Tezuka's films and 2000 are very.....reminiscent of the Heisei films, maybe some kind of attempt in 2005 to compete with Peter Jackson's Kong, and maybe a few outliers, but it's really hard to tell. The Millenium Era was in such a weird place of trying new things and AGRESSIVELY keeping the status quo/same monsters, it's hard to say how Toho would react
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Re: What if the series continued?

Post by Jan EnciZilla »

in my opinion TOHO would have preferred to do in this way if FW was great at box-office:
2005: a Kiryu film that's focused about him after Tokyo S.O.S perhaps with a swarm of Destroyer (in the post-creit scene there will be King Caesar's reveal!)...
2006: a sort of Godzilla vs Megalon revival that is a GMK sequel with the new gotengo that discovers new clean resources but it comes across underground community that throw out its spirit guardian (Megalon, in fact.) so the world is fucked up.
2007: Godzilla vs Gamera
2008: FW sequel with the dark mysterious star alliance that arrives on earth bc they want to avenge for their fallen associates xiliens so Godzilla and Minilla attack them.
2009: new Kiryu's chapter with Battra!
2010: a sort of Godzilla vs SpaceGodzilla revival that is a Godzilla vs Megaguirus sequel where the dimensional tide shot a white hole that unleash a SpaceG that make a crystal cataclysm and Godzilla face up with it.
2012: Godzilla 3D to the MAX

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Re: What if the series continued?

Post by imposterzilla »

X_X I could only see G 3D to the MAX made and a Kiryu solo film.

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Re: What if the series continued?

Post by Showa Gyaos »

I remember back on the old boards when there was that long drought after 2004, some of the older members of TK argued that Godzilla would work best in a direct-to-video format. The Millennium films left a bad taste in some people's mouths. This was before word of Legendary's acquisition of the Godzilla license was ever uttered.

If they had continued it, the Godzilla brand probably would have been watered down. Audiences seemed to be growing tired of giant monster movies and the character needed a break especially after Final Wars tanked.
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Re: What if the series continued?

Post by shadowgigan »

Would Toho have continued the series if GFW was a smash hit? That seems like such an odd thought expirement. For some reason, I just can't see that film succeeding at the box office.

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Re: What if the series continued?

Post by darthzilla99 »

If they had tried to continue, I could see Toho trying to get Shusuke Kaneko. I wonder if Toho promised Shusuke Kaneko all the time he wanted instead of rushing him how the movie would have turned out. Shusuke Kaneko did have success with the live action death note movies after GMK.
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Re: What if the series continued?

Post by JVM »

I think the Miillennium series concept was ahead of its time in concept but behind in execution. In today's day and age, I think the concept of doing several movies outside of continuity that are each their own take on Godzilla would be really, really successful -- and indeed, Shin Godzilla still fulfills that core idea in a way. It's unlike any previous film and not connected to any of them. It's a different take on the material. It underlines why the concept failed though - the stylistic similarity of the Millennium films makes the alternate reality background feel wasted. There isn't much thematically that requires Godzilla 2000, Godzilla vs. Megagurius or the Kiryu films to remain separate; all of the films but GMK could be mended together without really altering their plots so much as certain lines of dialogue... consequently the popularity of GMK owes a lot to being a unique and fresh take on Godzilla's mythology. It doesn't fit with any of the other films, it is very much its own animal. If each Millennium film had been such a dramatically different take, with different writers and directors taking their own stab at the mythos, I think it would have been a more popular series overall and received a much warmer reception. In some ways we've been seeing that now in the last decade - Shin, the anime trilogy, Singular Point, Legendary, the shorts - everything is kind of its own take on Godzilla. Those are the seeds the Millennium series tried to sow.
Arbok wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 9:04 pm
edgaguirus wrote: Thu Oct 06, 2016 9:26 pmToho had already learned that new monsters didn't always translate into big box office numbers.
I feel like Toho failed to grasp what helped propel one of their biggest movies ever, Godzilla vs. Mothra, which was a combination of a new monster in the form of Battra paired with a returning popular monster with Mothra. It's an approach that should have been tried more.
I think that's a really good reading of it. Something old and something new. I think the idea of including a heavyweight to carry the new monsters is smart -- Toho certainly applied this logic with Godzilla vs. Gigan and Godzilla vs. Megalon, and I think both films remain somewhat more memorable for that factor, the mixture of new and familiar. It's a shame the Millennium films seemed to either rely on new or nostalgic characters without trying to find middle ground.
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Re: What if the series continued?

Post by miguelnuva »

I can see

Kiryu solo film

Gmk sequel possibly

Godzilla 3d to the max

Maybe a Godzilla 2000 suit film

Mothra solo film

Godzilla seemed pretty maxed out in 2004.
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Re: What if the series continued?

Post by Tyrant_Lizard_King »

In a way it still is. Every film has been unique and different. Yeah the anime trilogy is 3 films but it's also one long story split into 3 parts and should be viewed as such. Shin was it's own thing and by all accounts so will the Yamazaki film. I don't count the MonsterVerse, being foreign productions and all, or Singular Point as it's a television series. From the way things are going Toho doesn't really seem interested in a singular continuity at this point.
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Re: What if the series continued?

Post by shadowgigan »

Tyrant_Lizard_King wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2023 7:54 pm In a way it still is. Every film has been unique and different. Yeah the anime trilogy is 3 films but it's also one long story split into 3 parts and should be viewed as such.
I could get behind such a theory. Toho really hasn’t left the anthology stage since the Milennium era, for better or for worse. I would argue it’s not too different from other major franchises, either. I used to think this was something unique to Godzilla.

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