Official Godzilla 2016 discussion thread!

^This.  All of it.

So glad I'm not the only Gyakusugoji fan out there... sucks being lonely within your own fandom.

I know the feel, Danny. :P 

I wonder if we will see the design next year.

^I wouldn't hold my breath... if Toho's pattern with the series is anything to go by, the new film will be released in December of 2016.  Even if its fully shot by, lets say, September of next year, it will probably be kept under wraps until closer to the film's release.

However, if Toho really wants to get some publicity, they will give us some teases next year.  Especially if a suit is being used... think about it: the CGI Legendary Godzilla was tweeked in the animation department up until the release of the film, roughly a year after the principal photography completed.  If Toho uses a suit, dramatic (meaning with actors) and SPFX photography will lilely occur at about the same time.  So by the time the actors are being filmed, a suit will have been constructed, which mean that Godzilla's final design (if a suit is used) will exist by summer of next year.

Will Toho show it to us a possible year and a half before the film's release?  Probably not, but it is possible that we could get SOMETHING!  We can only hope... :)

One of the more interesting aspects of this film is that the story is apparently already in development. If that's ture, I can wait for whatever Toho decides to release as the film is being produced. I went through this before with Godzilla 2000 Millennium in 1999. If memory serves me, one of the first things revealed was the dorsal fins. Prior to that there was that concept poster with that look that gave us a preview of where the film was going design wise: http://godzilla.wikia.com/wiki/File:Concept_Art_-_Godzilla_2000_Millennium_-_Yuji_Sakai's_Godzilla_2.png

Maybe we'll see a gradual increase of disclosures has 2015 progresses, enough to keep the movie going public, as well as fans, interested. If the film is released in December 2016, I would suspect that from that summer onward, we'll see a great promotional push geared, of course, toward making the film a success in Japan. That means, we'll all benefit from it on this side of the Pacific.

I don't know, maybe there will be a serialization of the story, ala 1954, during the run up to its release. I think it would be intriguing for Toho to give us some ideas, however vague and mysterious, if they have them, as to what we could expect with this film.

I what like to know, at this time, who they have in mind for the leads, director of SPFX and Director.

One of the things to keep in mind is that whenever Toho had early publicity for a Godzilla movie in the Millennium series they would actually label it with the following year: Godzilla x Megaguirus (2000) was dubbed Godzilla 2001 in early promotional material. GMK (2001) was dubbed, Godzilla 2002. Godzilla x MechaGodzilla (2002) was labeled Godzilla 2003...

It's possible that this "Godzilla 2016" business is simply code for a December 2015 release. However, that goes against everything we've been hearing. Toho gained nothing releasing these films in December every year and the projected shooting dates don't exactly line up with Toho's typical post-production schedule. Surely this "Goji-con" has figured that out...

My guess/hope is we're looking at a mid-year 2016 release. There's no way they'll spend two whole years on the movie because that's out-of-the-norm for a Japanese production. Yet it would still be a longer production schedule than we've ever seen before.

Time will tell.

@Gman2887:

I hope your hope is realized and we see a release sometime between mid to late 2016. This will show that Toho has learned some things regarding the roles of production time and story development in making great films. They can make something memorable here, entertaining and worthy of inclusion in this great series.

My gut feeling is that we will see the film released sometime in 2016, fall or winter. Well, at least, this is what I hope. If Godzilla 2016 is successful, not just commercially but critically, it will resonate not just with fans (let's face it, we're fairly easy to please and we're favorably biased), but with the wider Japanese public. I hope this new Godzilla film speaks to the Japanese nation and makes them want to embrace it and have pride in this uniquely Japanese artform. Godzilla is like bunraku or kabuki.  

Wouldn't it be pleasantly ironic that it took a big-budget, American-made reboot (of sorts) to a catalyst for a homegrown, tokusatsu version of Godzilla and all that it entails?

Legendary's Godzilla was certainly not the 1998 film made by Roland Emmerich. But, I sense that there is a desire on the part of Toho to 'reclaim' Godzilla, or at least make a great Japanese version of him.

Another question pops up in my head: Will this be a solo film or a versus film?

In my opinion, the solo godzilla films turn out to be some of the best movies in the franchise. However, it will be more entertaining and interesting to see this new Godzilla battle another monster.  

If a versus film, I wonder if they'll use a previous Toho kaiju, or maybe rival the Mutos with their own new monster. :O

I don't think that's a great mystery. Toho sees Godzilla '14 as revitalizing Godzilla's popularity and they no doubt believe the "Godzilla versus" approach was a part of that. The age of solo Godzilla flicks is long gone.

Agreed.

Plus, if the enemy kaiju could symbolize some existing threat or world/regional power, it could add depth to the story and meaningfulness to the film. Monsters as symbols/metaphors is a well-established Toho staple. Besides, monsters battling each other is great spectacle.

At the end of the day, we want, for one reason or another, to cheer for Godzilla. And I think that's obviously the case in Japan because Godzilla is Japanese.

^Excelent point.

Now here is another question I have been pondering for a while... if, hypothetically, there are new monsters in this movie, and they are designed to be allegorical characters like so many Toho monsters over the last 60 years... what would the represent?

Think about it... Godzilla is a metaphor for the horrors of the H-bomb and its misuse by man; Biollante represents science (namely genetic expirimentation) gone awry; Mothra can represent ecology and the Earth spirit; King Ghidorah represents mindless agression from a foreign locale/people; Hedorah represents pollution.  Each of these monsters was created in an era when these topics and fears were relevant to the world, and even more so to Japan.

What would new monsters stand in for?  We just had the fear of EMP realized in the MUTO's, so what is left?  Terrorism?  The Singularity?  Bio-war?  Maybe a new monster will be created to transfer and old fear into a new form.  Who knows!

I would look at the greatest, most menacing threats facing Japan today: where do they come from? Who are they? Japan, a non-nuclear state is surrounded by China, Russia and North Korea. In fact, Japan and Russia have a territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands. China is becoming increasingly assertive in the Western Pacific. North Korea is...well, north Korea: a Stalinist state presided over by someone who's missing some dots from his dominoes. That's a lot of instability mixed with a high level of megatonnage. Nuclear power is at the heart of these fears. So, how do you exercise them in the form of monsters on a collision course with Godzilla, who is at once Japan and, ironically, The Bomb. 

Maybe new kaiju. Although, when I think of China, I think of a dragon. Russia, I don't know. It probably wouldn't be advisable to have these kaiju have origins in those countries.

How does Japan come out of this? Shusuke Kaneko said in an interview that as a filmmaker, he wanted to give people a feeling of hope. That's why Godzilla 2016 has to end triumphantly. Even if the end is in doubt up until the last minute. Which, IMO, would be best. A rollercoaster ride would ensure that people cannot become bored or complacent. But, they need to be saved at the end. Salvation, redemption and hope.

Godzilla, so Japanese, would be the symbol of that hopeful future.

Or, cyberterrorism. This is a threat that's on everyone's mind. And it does speak to a country's national security.

A kaiju representing a cyberterrorist threat could be hideous, and, very interesting. Especially if it has powers representing the threat and destruction that it symbolizes. 

A cyberkaiju would be, by necessity, a CGI monster.

Think of the havoc it could wreak to a country's economy, communications-it's very existence. This would be where the rubber meets the road in regards to just how far Toho/other Japanese filmmakers have come in the area of digital-based VFX.

But then, this raises the question of its motivation: is it acting on its own? Is it controlled by a malevolent foreign power or regional adversary?

I would like to see a cyberkaiju 'communicate' somehow to the Japanese nation. Beyond making it's goals known, it would personalize this monster, give him (it) an aura, a window into its intelligence. Now, that would be creepy. Hopefully this wouldn't seen as a ripoff of the Man of Steel's General Zod's address to the people of the earth, or the 'Millennium Messages' scene from Godzilla 2000 Millennium (one of the best scenes from the Millennium Godzilla films, IMHO). But if it is, who cares? As long as its frightening and convincingly executed.

BTW, the above referenced 'Millennium Messages' scene-and it is chilling-is in the Japanese version of Godzilla 2000 Millennium. 

For me, this is like 1999, all over again.

We were getting regular updates on ther old Monster Zero site, managed by the late Aaron Smith. Aaron had a source in Japan called Hico, who had site called "Don't Be Defeated Japanese Godzilla!" I would check Aaron's site several times a day. I practically lived there. All of it was for any information about Godzilla 2000 Millennium. Toho was reclaiming Godzilla after GINO, and, in the process, coming to our rescue. For this and other reasons, Godzilla 2000 Millennium will always have a special place in my heart.

I have a feeling Godzilla 2016 will too.

I love that title, "Don't Be Defeated Japanese Godzilla!"

I vaguely remember Don't Be Defeated Japanese Godzilla!.

I joined Monster Zero a little over a year before it joined Fandom.com I think. It was THE place to be for all Godzilla fans at the time. Following Godzilla 2000 news was fantastic back in the day. I can't wait to follow another Japanese Godzilla film. The feeling is admittedly different from following Legendary's movie.

I joined Aaron Smith's site when it was the old monsterzero.org. It was a real friendly, cozy place without a lot of antagonism. Just friends talking about their favorite genre and monster.

It's different now.

Then, in late 1998, around December 14th, Toho announced that it was making a new Godzilla film. This was totally unexpected. No one saw it coming. The first working title I remember was "Godzilla Millennium." Toho even made statements about how the TriStar version just didn't seem like Godzilla. They would later backtrack (at least publicly) from that. But we knew what they meant.

This feels like that time all over again for me. I'm looking forward to the gradual release of information, rumors, concept art, posters, maquettes, plotlines, etc. As production proceded in 1999, Toho even broadcast the filming of a SPFX scene on the internet. They also posted the translation of a transcript of a live talk show that was held a place called Shinjuku Loft Plue One. August Ragone helped with cleaning up the language. That event offered a lot info and insight as to what they were going for in terms of not only the film, but the series itself. I hope they do this again.  

Following the production of Godzilla 2000 Millennium had a hands on, homemade feel to it.

Even with the information from the English version of Toho's Official, there was a papable intimacy about the whole process. The human element in the way these films are made in Japan is a great part of their appeal. To be so close to this event. And yes, it is different from the Legendary production experience. It's an amazing spectacle: something as fantastic and overwhelming as giant monsters with indescrible powers, but brought to the screen and made accessible to us by people like us employing those time-tested tokusatsu techniques. The love and care going into Godzilla 2000 Millennium was evident. And we got to watch the whole thing as it unfolded.

This is a ride I want to take again.

Except Toho loved the Legendary Godzilla, thats a huge difference in their thought process compared to 98.

We can't forget that none of this would be possibl without the success of Godzilla 2014 and the sequels. Toho loved the latest movie and they are making this Japanese Godzilla to mooch off of his success, i can guarantee it wont be released in America.

So no matter what dont forget ever that the Legendary Godzilla, may be flawed, but was still a great film, and has brought back Godzilla into the limelight.

To be fair, I doubt toho would come out and say they didn't love a movie that was making them money unless it was the same situation as 98 with it getting universally panned. The fact they're making  movie I think means they feel they could have done things better and are trying their hand at it while waiting for Legendary to come out with the sequel. 

I never got a chance to follow G2000 since I was only 8 and the dial up internet I had at the time was something an 8 year old just wasn't going to deal with to get info. I did however follow what I could of Final Wars before it's release. I remember seeing the monster cast and printing out the concept art of some of the monsters. Unfortunately when the movie came out it wasn't exactly what I expected, hopefully this upcoming one will deliver on any hype I get from early news.

I think Toho actually did like the new film. No, it's not a great movie, but it's solid enough to appreciate, much like the 90s and 00s films. I think it sort of inspired Toho more than anything.

Yes there's the fact they're piggy-backing off the new movie's success, but at the same time I think they realize that four years is a fairly long wait. To paraphrase Ed Godziszewski, Toho knows better than anyone that the iron gets cold real quick. They waited five years to release Godzilla vs. Biollante and barely made money off it.

The 2016 movie will likely not have a wide release in American theaters, but I can see it premiering at popular private theaters on both North American coast. And it will no doubt have a fairly solid DVD/Bluray release to tide us over.

Regardless, I'm in insanely excited about the 2016 film. More so than Godzilla 2 which is only naturally since one is a bit closer and the other is too far away to even think about.

Seeing how as Toho said they won't be outdone by another studio like legendary, what i want to know is why worry? I'm glad they are doing a new film, but they won't beat hollywood's special effects. They have already provided more memorizing and better godzilla films already.

@Gman2887,

I sincerly hope you are wrong about the whole solo godzilla films with being over with. They could do a solo godzilla film to start off with if they get the right kind of idea. I'm ok with the "VS" films, i just like for another solo godzilla film.

Still though as far as how godzilla should look for the new upcoming film, i want him to look close to this or even better.

I mean just look at this ^ How in the hell can godzilla look more pi**ed off?

Not to mention this ^

I always liked the dark brown eyes of the early Heisei suits. They really removed a great deal of believability when they added those bright yellow rims around his irises.

^Yeah i know. Good god, please toho make something like the 91 design or even better.

Please get Shinji Higuchi to helm the special effects

Please get Shusuke Kaneko to return for another godzilla film directing. Or even that Takashi guy.

I like all of the above with regard to design preferences and Live Action and Special Effects Directors. The 1989, Bio-Goji, is one of my favorites.

As far as Toho and the Legendary film, they don't have to dislike it to want to make another Godzilla film. I'm sure they liked it. I know I did. I saw it 9 times. But, the idea of a new Toho Godzilla just seems so right, so natural. They should be making Godzilla films. If the commercial success of the Legendary film leads to a new Japanese made Godzilla film, that's fine. We're the fans; Toho is the studio.Their motivations are just that: theirs. 

@BigBadBen: nothing would please me more than seeing Shusuke Kaneko get another crack at Godzilla, and seeing Shinji Higuchi direct the SPFX. All they need is time that they had when making the Heisei Gamera films.

On the other hand, I think Takashi Yamazaki would be an excellent choice for director. My question is, would/does he work with practical effects? With Yamazaki as director, does it mean an all CGI Godzilla? Has anybody here seen any of his work? I saw the CGI Godzilla in the Always: Sunset on Third Street clip. And, I've read, that he's in demand. So, what do people think? 

I would like to see a combination of suitmation, miniatures and CGI for Toho Godzilla 2016.

I really don't remember how his name came up in connection to the upcoming film.

I think Yamazaki does work with practical effects. It's just weaved with digital effects so well that it's sometimes hard to tell. I'm pretty sure model work was used in the Space Battleship Yamanto film.

As much as I hope he directs the new Godzilla, my concern is he will toss most of traditional uses away when I'd much rather see a blend.

As exciting as Kaneko and Higuchi are, I'm simply more excited about the prospect of new blood in the series. Yamazaki is just that.

I wonder what Shogo Tomiyama is thinking about all this?

He was always fairly humble from what I had heard. Although I have issues with how he ran the series, I don't dislike him by any stretch. I'm fairly sure he wishes the new generation of filmmakers the best.

Agreed about new blood and ideas for the series. I have a really good feeling about this project. I'm sure that part of it is a fan's hope. But, unless I see or hear something troubling, I'm going to stay cautiously optimistic. Especially if what we heard about the production schedule is true. 

I kind of imagine Shogo enjoying all of this from the perspective of a fan.

I hope he is.

@Jamaal,

Here is a little information on Takashi Yamazaki.

Takashi Yamazaki (?? ? Yamazaki Takashi?, born June 12, 1964 in Matsumoto, Nagano) is a Japanese film director, screenwriter and visual effects director. He won the Best Director and Best Screenplay prizes at the Japanese Academy Awards in 2006 for Always: Sunset on Third Street.[1] He is a member of the animation and film visual effects studio Shirogumi.

Contents

• 1 Filmography
  • 1.1 Films
  • 1.2 Commercials
  • 1.3 Music videos
• 2 References
• 3 External links

Filmography

Films

• Juvenile (2000)
• Returner (2002)
• Always: Sunset on Third Street (2005)
• Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (2007)
• Ballad (2009)
• Space Battleship Yamato (2010)
• Friends: Naki on Monster Island (2011)
• Always: Sunset on Third Street 3 (2012)
• The Eternal Zero (2013)
• Stand by Me Doraemon (2014)
• Parasyte: Part 1 (2014)
• Parasyte: Part 2 (2015)

From what i have heard Space battleship Yamato is actually a great film made by this guy.

So if this guy is getting the job with Toho on the new Godzilla 2016 film, i think we might see another Cgi godzilla coming along. However, i would rather see suitmation because it is traditional. As long as they can do what Shinji Higuchi did with the Gamera heisei triology and use Cgi as practical effects, then the film should be good.

Here is hoping for the best  results for the upcoming godzilla film!

I also hope that is one of the highest grossing godzilla films ever made in Japan.

So far, the only thing about this guy that isn't sitting well with me is his reliance on CGI in all of his films.  As I've said before, CGI in Japan is so far behind US CGI that a Godzilla film made with that kind of imagery would make it look like a Syfy Channel movie to American viewers.  Could they pull it off amd please fans around the world?  Sure... but ANY level of practical effects will be far more realistic.

But realism has never been the point of the Japanese Godzilla series.  The imagery is supposed to be poetic, fun, exciting, and even beautiful, and is meant to be a storytelling technique that is more artistic than realistic.  THAT is what I want to see in this film.

But we are on the very edge of a slippery slope here... traditional effects are on life support in Japan, and are on the verge of going the way of the dodo.  If this new Japanese Godzilla is created with entirely with CGI, it WILL be the final nail in the coffin for the Tokusatsu tradition. 

But if the new film embraces that tradition, it could revitalize it in a huge way.  A new Godzilla done with suits, miniatures, and just the right amount of computer work could be the kickstart the genre needs to survive in the modern world.

Its all about the waiting, now...

CGI isn't so far behind in Japan in comparison to Hollywood due to technology, it's all about the hours and manpower. There simply isn't enough people or time in the Japanese film business to compete with the manpower and time Hollywood has to put into CG creations. More man power and more time = more money. The Japanese film industry has about a quarter or less of the amount of Hollywood to spend on movies a year. This amount of work is just asking a lot of an industry that size.

But Yamazaki's possible involvement concerns me as well. On the one hand I want to see what he can do with Godzilla. On the other hand I'm afraid of what he'll do with tokusatsu. I don't think it will be the final nail in the coffin as Super Sentai, Kamen Rider and even Ultraman will likely endure. Not to mention Higuchi's Attack on Titan.

We don't even know if he's really involved yet though. It's all speculation on Ragone's part at this point. We really no nothing. A long wait indeed...

Better strap in and grab a few good books... its gonna be a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG wait. ;)

While its true that Tokusatsu TV is running pretty strong, and will likely continue to do so into the forseeable future, it would be a huge blow to the industry, and the artists involved, to have Godzilla go completely digital.  Having the series that created the Tokusatsu genre abandon that genre in its country of origin could be devistating... maybe not immediately, but the ramifications would definitely be felt in the genre's future.

That said, there are definitely, as you said Gman, excelent examples of the genre still popping up in Japan, and there are a few exciting projects coming up!  Aside from the upcoming Gamera and Godzilla POSSIBLY using traditional effects, we also have two Attack on Titan films this year, and Shinpei Hyashita's upcoming Deep Sea Monster Raiga sequel!  Its not exactly the 1960's Golden Age, but its better than what weve gotten in the last decade. :) I'm excited and hopeful!

I have completely forgot that Raiga 2 is a thing. Ouch...

"Having the series that created the Tokusatsu genre abandon that genre in its country of origin could be devistating... maybe not immediately, but the ramifications would definitely be felt in the genre's future."

You're probably right. Something a lot of fans forget, and I hope Toho does not forget, is that Godzilla is actually king of an entire style of filmmaking that has influenced 60 years worth of film and television. For Godzilla to abandon that is like a king leaving his empire to starve in favor of becoming another pauper to the CG empire. It wouldn't make any sense to the former empire and it would collapse as a result.

There's a difference between embracing change and tossing art to the wayside. I hope Toho's new generation of filmmakers think about this.

@BigBadBen:

Thanks for the info on Takashi Yamazaki.

I'm going to look for clips of his work on YouTube, especially Battleship Yamato.

I think most of us would like see a tokusatsu Godzilla, augmented with a judicious use of digital effects that are well-developed and meticulously worked on. This requires time. Shusuke Kaneko said that working at Daiei with more time, but less money was better as far as filmmaking is concerned. I hoping Toho has realized this and will devote all of 2015 to giving this project the time it deserves. Their gift, their craft, to the world, is the traditional effects: suitmation and miniatures. This doesn't exculde the use of dgital effects. The two streams, practical and digital are not mutually exclusive as we all know. But it's the practical, the tokusatsu, that gives these films their charm and that certain look that sets them apart from other art forms.

Whether they go with Yamazaki or someone else, I hope the traditional effects are right in the middle of this film.