UPDATE (08/02): Minor update-- Sources now point to shooting likely starting in the coming weeks or so. (Close enough though.) Thanks to Mr. Ragone for contacting us with corrections. Expect more soon as production ramps up.
August Ragone (author of Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters) has picked up a scoop that Toho's latest Godzilla film has started will soon begin principle photography! This news is further supported by a recent call for extras in the Kanto area (or Greater Tokyo Area) between September through November.
Additionally, sources close to the production told Ragone that concept artist Mahiro Maeda is rumored to have designed the latest incarnation of the King of the Monsters. Maeda's work with director Hideaki Anno dates back to the early 1980s and through the formation of Gainax. Kaiju fans likely know him best for re-imagining Gamera and his foes in Shusuke Kaneko's Gamera Trilogy. Maeda recently with George Miller on a proposed Mad Max: Fury Road animated project.
Takayuki Takeya is also rumored to have been tasked with sculpting the production maquette of Maeda's Godzilla design. Takeya is likely one of the most influential designers in the world, working on films, games and collectables from Final Fantasy VII to Star Wars. Takeya recently worked with Higuchi on the live action Attack on Titan films.
Mr. Ragone's anonymous source claimed, “(This new) Godzilla is based on the original (1954 version), but is going to be... frightening.”
In many ways the 1954 design is the definitive version of Godzilla: It was the first and in many ways the most horrific. The idea of updating the look has long been a wish for some hardcore fans.
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Toho has yet to confirm all of these details, but for a more from the sources, and a closer examination of Mr. Maeda and Mr. Takeya's astounding careers, make sure to visit Mr. Ragone's full article here.
Written and Directed by Hideaki Anno, Co-directed by Shinji Higuchi who will also oversee the special effects, Godzilla 2016 is set to be released in Japanese theaters Summer 2016.
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Sources:The Good, The Bad and the Godzilla
Yanekan.cocolog-nifty.com
*Godzilla 1954 Banner & sketch by Bob Eggleton
**Godzilla 1954 Model Manipulation by WoGzilla
