Toho Studio is banking on the success of Gareth Edward’s 2014 smash hit Godzilla by making their own version entitled Godzilla 2016, which marks the first time in twelve years that the Japanese studio has made a Godzilla movie. And it will most likely payoff. Edward’s Godzilla went on to earn $525 million worldwide. In Japan alone, it made 3.2 billion yen ($26 million) with Toho and Warner Bros. Japan co-distributing. Now Toho has landed Japanese filmmakers Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi to co-direct. They promise the king kaiju will be the biggest one to date. Check out the footprint!
Toho commented.
“Ever since Hollywood announced that ‘Godzilla’ was to be resurrected, the expectation for another Japanese Godzilla grew. And if we were to newly produce, we looked into Japanese creators who were the most knowledgeable and who had the most passion for Godzilla”
Anno will write the screenplay, while Higuchi will oversee the visual effects. This is not the first time these two have worked together. They worked on God Warrior Appears in Tokyo.
“Their drive to take on such new challenges was exactly what we all had been inspired by,” stated Toho.
Anno is very well-known for directing animation and live action films. Higuchi worked with Anno on the Neon Genesis Evangelion series before moving on to direct Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean and the 2005 hit The Sinking of Japan.
In America, Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. will co-produce Godzilla 2 with Edwards in the director’s chair once more. The film is set for a June 8, 2018 release.
Toho has produced 28 Godzilla movies since 1954. This makes Godzilla the largest and longest running film franchise in the world surpassing even James Bond, which is about to clock in at 24 when Spectre is released later this year.
Source: Variety