Was Final Wars originally planned to be a darker movie?

[GodzillavsRayquaza]

Just something that popped into my head due to looking through concept art of FW Godzilla. Between the famous spikey-as-hell concept version apparently having an exposed spine (which paints it in a whole new light), and another concept art version of the character which looks straight out of a more Shin Godzilla-esque feature, it seems there were ideas for a movie much darker and grimmer than what we got. Neither of these designs seem fitting for what FW ultimately was, and while yeah that obviously why they’re just concept art, the fact that two separate horror-esque designs were drafted up intrigues me.

[Gigantis]

I honestly can't imagine some weird, darker toned version of Final Wars tbh. I think the designs were just made to try and make Godzilla more "streamlined" and "cool" for the younger audience lol

[Terasawa]

GFW's concept art was done by primarily a mix of long-time Toho staff (notably Shinji Nishikawa) and artists brought on by Kitamura. The latter included Yoji Shinkawa (who did the three sketches at the end of OP's post) and Katsuya Terada, both of whom had very distinct styles that didn't really mesh with what Nishikawa and co. had been doing for years. I'm not sure who designed the final version of Godzilla, but it might have been Shinichi Wakasa or his staff. At any rate, of the other monsters, Nishikawa designed all but Monster X, Keizer G, and Gigan -- those three were by Terada, and that's why the three main villain monsters look so out of place. Ditto the Godzilla concept art shown here.

I bet Nishikawa was employed in large part because of the amount of character and world designing required by the script. Had the film been granted much more pre-production time, I bet Kitamura would have relied solely on his selected artists. Their work is already pretty edgy for the Godzilla series (at that time, especially), and I think it's Nishikawa's designs and Wakasa's monster costumes that are just about all that seems traditionally "Godzilla."

[Major sssspielberg!]

Now, Yoji Shinkawa is the guy who worked for Kojima, right?
You can see a lot of similarities between the concept art above and his NERV Anti-Godzilla Mechagodzilla figure. I'd be open to seeing that take on Godzilla at some point.

[Terasawa]

Now, Yoji Shinkawa is the guy who worked for Kojima, right?
You can see a lot of similarities between the concept art above and his NERV Anti-Godzilla Mechagodzilla figure. I'd be open to seeing that take on Godzilla at some point.

Per Wikipedia, yeah, Shinkawa is the "lead character and mecha designer" of Metal Gear.

[LegendZilla]

I remember before the movie came out, I read information branded as spoilers. It stated that humankind was going to kill Minya and Godzilla was going to lash out in vengeance. At the end of the movie, Godzilla was going to die.

[Voyager]

I cannot imagine this, it would’ve been so bizarre

Would it still have been balls to the walls crazy?

[Rando Yaguchi]

I remember before the movie came out, I read information branded as spoilers. It stated that humankind was going to kill Minya and Godzilla was going to lash out in vengeance. At the end of the movie, Godzilla was going to die.

This would have at least made the movie entertaining.

[ClandestineCanine9]

I remember before the movie came out, I read information branded as spoilers. It stated that humankind was going to kill Minya and Godzilla was going to lash out in vengeance. At the end of the movie, Godzilla was going to die.

This would have at least made the movie entertaining.

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?
there are many valid criticisms of Final Wars. I've never found entertainment to be one of them

[Terasawa]

there are many valid criticisms of Final Wars. I've never found entertainment to be one of them

Well, what entertains one is entirely subjective, so you don't have to agree with him for his complaint to be valid.

GFW might objectively have a lot of action, but I personally find very little of it enjoyable or entertaining.

[Lesko]

I remember before the movie came out, I read information branded as spoilers. It stated that humankind was going to kill Minya and Godzilla was going to lash out in vengeance. At the end of the movie, Godzilla was going to die.

This would have at least made the movie entertaining.

I disagree. We already had Godzilla die at the end of the Heisei series. Combined with GFW not being connected to the other Millennium films would just make it feel awkward. At least the Heisei Godzilla we knew for entry upon entry. We felt his death. In GFW we get a whole new Godzilla that we just met and it would be too drastic. Godzilla dying is also a terrible way to celebrate his 50th anniversary.

[Rando Yaguchi]

I didn't say it would be good, I said it would be entertaining lol

[Gojira1604]

I remember before the movie came out, I read information branded as spoilers. It stated that humankind was going to kill Minya and Godzilla was going to lash out in vengeance. At the end of the movie, Godzilla was going to die.

Wasn't he going to be killed by a Manda like dragón?

[Mac Daddy MM]

I remember before the movie came out, I read information branded as spoilers. It stated that humankind was going to kill Minya and Godzilla was going to lash out in vengeance. At the end of the movie, Godzilla was going to die.

Holy crap, I remember this too. The pre-FW hype and rumors was something to take in, even more so than G'14 and Shin. The shit storm alone when GINO (G'98) was RUMORED to have an appearance... That makes me feel old. Another big rumor from FW was that Godzilla would die in Shanghai of all places at the hands of a "Fire Dragon." This was a rumor spurred directly from a Chinese news source at the time.

I will never forget when the Japanese Godzilla website updated into FW mode and we saw concept art of Gigan for the first time and silhouettes of all the monsters (minus Keizer Ghidorah and Zilla), giving us a confirmation of who was in it. With Anguirus, Hedorah and King Caesar confirmed, I don't think I had ever been so excited in my life up to that point. Damn...

[Terasawa]

I remember before the movie came out, I read information branded as spoilers. It stated that humankind was going to kill Minya and Godzilla was going to lash out in vengeance. At the end of the movie, Godzilla was going to die.

Holy crap, I remember this too. The pre-FW hype and rumors was something to take in, even more so than G'14 and Shin. The shit storm alone when GINO (G'98) was RUMORED to have an appearance... That makes me feel old. Another big rumor from FW was that Godzilla would die in Shanghai of all places at the hands of a "Fire Dragon." This was a rumor spurred directly from a Chinese news source at the time.

Yeah, I tried going through the old Monster Zero forums to find the (probably now-dead) Chinese article link a while back without any luck. Godzilla's death was definitely reported in one Chinese source, or at least that's how it was translated by the time it reached the G-fandom.

[Mac Daddy MM]

I remember before the movie came out, I read information branded as spoilers. It stated that humankind was going to kill Minya and Godzilla was going to lash out in vengeance. At the end of the movie, Godzilla was going to die.

Holy crap, I remember this too. The pre-FW hype and rumors was something to take in, even more so than G'14 and Shin. The poop storm alone when GINO (G'98) was RUMORED to have an appearance... That makes me feel old. Another big rumor from FW was that Godzilla would die in Shanghai of all places at the hands of a "Fire Dragon." This was a rumor spurred directly from a Chinese news source at the time.

Yeah, I tried going through the old Monster Zero forums to find the (probably now-dead) Chinese article link a while back without any luck. Godzilla's death was definitely reported in one Chinese source, or at least that's how it was translated by the time it reached the G-fandom.

I remember reading it on the old Rodan's Roost and GojiStomp, but now both of them are dead and gone as well.

[Terasawa]

Holy crap, I remember this too. The pre-FW hype and rumors was something to take in, even more so than G'14 and Shin. The poop storm alone when GINO (G'98) was RUMORED to have an appearance... That makes me feel old. Another big rumor from FW was that Godzilla would die in Shanghai of all places at the hands of a "Fire Dragon." This was a rumor spurred directly from a Chinese news source at the time.

Yeah, I tried going through the old Monster Zero forums to find the (probably now-dead) Chinese article link a while back without any luck. Godzilla's death was definitely reported in one Chinese source, or at least that's how it was translated by the time it reached the G-fandom.

I remember reading it on the old Rodan's Roost and GojiStomp, but now both of them are dead and gone as well.

Not to mention the original iteration of Toho Kingdom. MZ was a long shot, although that's where "Eric von Zipper" first revealed the inclusion of Zilla in the monster cast and no one believed him.

[Mac Daddy MM]

Yeah, I tried going through the old Monster Zero forums to find the (probably now-dead) Chinese article link a while back without any luck. Godzilla's death was definitely reported in one Chinese source, or at least that's how it was translated by the time it reached the G-fandom.

I remember reading it on the old Rodan's Roost and GojiStomp, but now both of them are dead and gone as well.

Not to mention the original iteration of Toho Kingdom. MZ was a long shot, although that's where "Eric von Zipper" first revealed the inclusion of Zilla in the monster cast and no one believed him.

Oh God, do you remember when TK's main site wasn't set up like an app and had a side menu for everything... Those were the days.

[shadowgigan]

I think that's just Nishikawa's art style. I had the pleasure of building one of those T's Facto kits recently. Here's my take on it, spoilers because large images:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

I vaguely remember hearing something about Godzilla dying. I swear rumor chasing was so much more fun in those days where technology wasn't such a part of our lives.I don't remember the part about Minya but remember hearing about Godzilla dying being a possibility.

Edit: Think I may have found the article.

Godzilla Monster to Die in Shanghai

[DirektorSplennic]

Yeah, I tried going through the old Monster Zero forums to find the (probably now-dead) Chinese article link a while back without any luck. Godzilla's death was definitely reported in one Chinese source, or at least that's how it was translated by the time it reached the G-fandom.

I remember reading it on the old Rodan's Roost and GojiStomp, but now both of them are dead and gone as well.

Not to mention the original iteration of Toho Kingdom. MZ was a long shot, although that's where "Eric von Zipper" first revealed the inclusion of Zilla in the monster cast and no one believed him.

It's so interesting hearing about what speculation and leaks were like back then. I'm 18 and I got into Godzilla around 2010-2011, so Final Wars and everything before that were to me movies that had come and gone that I could go back and enjoy. Is there anything else you can recall from when the Millennium or even Heisei movies were coming out that were supposed leaks, whether true or not?

I remember years ago before the IMDb forums closed I was browsing them out of boredom and there were rumors from 2002 that had people talking about Kamoebas' involvement in Tokyo SOS, and if he was going to have a fight scene with Godzilla.