Toho is Planning Their Own ‘Godzilla’ Cinematic Universe
Following the success of 2014’s Godzilla reboot, Legendary revealed that they were going to commit to creating a shared universe of Kaiju-based movies with the MonsterVerse, a setting which now includes Kong: Skull Island and will include 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters and 2020’s Godzilla vs. Kong. Toho initially responded to the success of the American reboot by making a new Godzilla film of their own, and now they’re taking things a step further by planning the launch of an entire cinematic universe of Godzilla sequels and spin-offs, which is currently being referred to as the “World of Godzilla”.
In a recent interview with Toho’s Godzilla Strategy Council executive Keiji Ota by Nikkei Style (translated by Gomaru Island; hat tip Godzilla-Movies.com), the company has plans to significantly up their output of movies starring Godzilla, his allies, and his enemies from 2021 onward:
“After 2021, we’re thinking of a potential strategy that publishes Godzilla movies uninterrupted at a rate of ever 2 years, although there is a preference for a yearly pace as well… The future of the series and its forwarding developments are very conscious of the “shared universe” method. Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, etc. could all share a single world view much like a Marvel movie where Iron Man and the Hulk can cross over with each other. It is said that each movie can be a possible film production where any one of them could lead a film of their own as the titular character.”
Rather unsurprisingly, this announcement comes off the heels of Avengers: Infinity War, which built off of ten years of doing what Ota was describing, making mountains of cash for Disney. Toho previously got this strategy to work decades ago with a series of Kaiju movies that loosely shared a single continuity, but this new initiative could lead to a more interconnected series of projects akin to what Marvel has done. The downside to this is that Shin Godzilla will not be a part of the new continuity that they have planned. In fact, plans for another film in that continuity seem to have been put on the backburner in spite of the film’s massive success in Japan. Any potential follow-up to the movie was already not expected to release until after 2020 due to Legendary’s set of films; regardless, director Hideaki Anno, who was expected to return, already has a commitment with the Rebuild of Evangelion series, the latest installment of which was itself significantly delayed due to production on Shin Godzilla.
What do Toho’s plans for annual or biennial Godzilla movies mean for Legendary’s MonsterVerse, which there are currently no plans announced for any projects after 2020? For now, it’s difficult to say; it’s likely that Legendary will want to see how Godzilla: King of the Monsters does before committing to any other projects aside from the long-awaited crossover between King Kong and Godzilla. Given that Hollywood-made Kaiju movies tend to have a bigger footprint internationally than ones created in Japan, it doesn’t seem likely that Toho would outright want this other series of movies to stop, even if they can make more money off of the films they make in-house. Even still, the future’s uncertain, as there’s no official indication that the deal will be renewed past 2020, and Wanda, who purchased Legendary years ago, is currently selling assets. If Wanda divests from Legendary, then that could put the future of the MonsterVerse into question after Godzilla vs. Kong.
Grant Davis is a freelance writer who has covered entertainment news for more than seven years. His articles have frequently appeared in Star Wars News Net as well as as other entertainment-related websites. As someone who grew up on Star Wars and comic book movies, he’s completely thrilled with the current era of genre entertainment.
