Despite the massive success of the Godzilla franchise, Toho Studios has completely abandoned or, at the very least, implemented ideas from scrapped movies into future projects since the franchise’s debut. Beginning with the 1954 anti-war classic, Godzilla, Toho Studios has developed a reputation for creating some of the most innovative and exciting monster movies, also known as kaiju films, with each one being distinct for its sense of humor, thematic musings about society and humanity, or for their sheer spectacle. However, despite the Godzilla franchise dominating the kaiju genre for nearly seven decades, Toho Studios has scrapped many interesting ideas for numerous reasons.
The different timelines featured in Godzilla have seen Godzilla battle creatures comprising Japanese experiments gone wrong, alien-like monsters with incredible powers, and even clones of himself, but Toho Studios has thrown curveballs in an effort to keep the franchise fresh. While the string of Godzilla projects that have seen official release dates are among some of cinema’s best movies, the franchise’s unmade projects throughout the decades are just as, if not more interesting than what is officially part of Godzilla‘s canon. From Godzilla‘s Showa era to the Millennium era, Toho Studios has canceled many Godzilla movies that should have been made.
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11 Godzilla 3D to the MAX (2009)
Spent years in development hell before becoming Godzilla since Toho Studios didn’t immediately approve funding
Godzilla 3D to the Max was originally slated for a 2007 release in America before receiving a 2008 release in Japan, but Toho Studios’ insistence that they act as technical advisors on the movie combined with their reticence in providing funding for the movie’s development caused production to stall before coming to a complete halt. Despite not being made, Godzilla 3D to the Max‘s IMAX 3-D format would have seen the movie shot in 70mm film with a runtime of forty minutes, and it would have featured Godzilla battling a new monster that strongly resembled Hedora named Deathla in Brazil, Argentina, and finally, Las Vegas.
Furthermore, Yoshimitsu Banno of Godzilla vs. Hedora was slated to direct, which would have made it a stealth sequel to Godzilla vs. Hedora. Godzilla 3D to the Max was also supposed to capitalize on the growing 3D trend in American cinemas, thus acting as the reason for its Las Vegas setting. However, Banno’s studio, Advanced Audiovisual Production, couldn’t secure funding or a deal with American distributors, and the movie fell into development hell as a result. While Godzilla 3D to the Max‘s plot was disregarded, Legendary Pictures’ idea for 2014’s Godzilla saw the monster ravaging Japan and America, thus jumpstarting the MonsterVerse.
10 The Volcano Monsters (1957)
Idea was scrapped after ABPT-Productions shut down and lost the Godzilla and Anguirus suits
The Volcano Monsters would have centered around an American paleontologist and Japanese scientists stumbling across the frozen bodies of a tyrannosaurus rex-like creature and an anklyosaurus inside the depths of a volcano, before they’re accidentally awakened in San Francisco. The movie was going to be distributed by the now-defunct American production company, ABPT-Productions. However, the company closed down before production began, and the suits for Godzilla and Anguirus were lost, thus effectively ending production. Despite all the production troubles, The Volcano Monsters was turned into Gigantis, the Fire Monster, was distributed by Warner Bros., and recycled some ideas such as Godzilla and Anguirus fighting once again.
9 Godzilla vs. Mechani-Kong (1990)
Financial disputes led to the creation of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah and Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla II
Way before the MosterVerse’s success of Godzilla vs. Kong, Toho’s King Kong vs. Godzilla proved that the battle between behemoths made for compelling entertainment as well as successful crossover potential between giant franchises. The unmade 1990s Godzilla vs. Mechani-Kong would have seen a mechanized version of the Kong battle Godzilla, and it would have been a remake of the 1963 original, while also making up for Godzilla vs. Biollante‘s box-office failure. However, Toho couldn’t secure the rights to use King Kong or even a mecha-version of him, so they scrapped the idea and reused aspects of the unmade movie for Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II.
8 The Return of King Ghidorah (1992)
Toho scrapped The Return of King Ghidorah in favor of the flop Godzilla vs. Mothra
The Return of King Ghidorah was supposed to be a direct sequel to the highly successful Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, and would have seen a space monster strongly resembling King Ghidorah ravaging Japan, thus forcing its citizens to rely on Godzilla to stop him. For unspecified reasons, Toho abandoned their plans for The Return of King Ghidorah in favor of producing the poorly received Godzilla vs. Mothra. Perhaps fears of retreading old ground motivated Toho to abandon The Return of King Ghidorah, but Godzilla vs. Mothra‘s status as one of the worst movies in Godzilla lore suggests the studio should have gone through with their planned sequel.
7 Godzilla X Varan, Baragon and Anguirus: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
Varan and Baragon’s lack of popularity caused Toho to repurpose the idea instead
Godzilla X Varan, Baragon and Anguirus: Giant Mosters All-Out Attack would have seen Godzilla once again battle his legendary foe Anguirus, while also fighting the lesser-known Varan and Baragon. Despite their relative obscurity, Varan would have been the God of the Sky, Baran the God of the Earth, and Anguirus, the God of the Sea, and they would have combined forces to combat the recently awakened Godzilla. Although the premise is interesting, Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack was made instead because Mothra and King Ghidorah are more popular and marketable than Varan and Baragon, but Varan’s facial fins would be used in King Ghidorah’s future appearances.
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6 Godzilla vs. AstroGodzilla (1994)
Many elements of Godzilla vs. AstroGodzilla made it into Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla
Godzilla vs. AstroGodzila would have seen Godzilla fight an insect-like clone of himself who could command an army of mutated dragonflies to wreak havoc on Japan and other monsters. Moreover, the plot would have centered around AstroGodzilla attempting to kill Godzilla before kidnapping his son, and making him a part of his army, thus becoming the new king of the monsters, but the idea was scrapped for unknown reasons. Despite the lack of production details, concept art exists, and it shows a metal Godzilla capable of turning into a jet, thus allowing many elements of the unmade movie’s first draft to make it into the 1994 movie, Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla instead.
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4 Godzilla vs. Berserk (1993)
Unused Heisei-era Godzilla movie about the dangers of unchecked advances in technology
The Japanese military constructs its own Godzilla to defend the country against the iconic lizard and other monsters after their most recent attacks motivate advancements in technology. However, the militarized Godzilla gets infected with a computer virus, goes rogue, and assimilates other different machinery like tanks and high-caliber machine guns to become a powerful, nigh-unstoppable metal monstrosity. This forces the country to rely on Godzilla once again to destroy the creature in a movie meant to warn the nation about irresponsible use of technology. Arguably one of the most interesting ideas, Godzilla vs. Berserk was scrapped for unknown reasons, but some elements were used for Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla II.
3 Bride of Godzilla (1956)
Despite efforts to give Godzilla depth, the story was scrapped for unspecified reasons
A mad scientist named Dr. Shida builds a robot in his deceased wife’s likeness before building a robot in his foster daughter’s likeness named Robot Daughter. Despite Robot Daughter’s disarming charm, she’s designed to be an unstoppable killing machine capable of neutralizing Godzilla and Anguirus permanently. However, Godzilla falls in love with Robot Daughter and spends the majority of the movie trying to court her in increasingly funny ways. Although Bride of Godzilla sounds extreme, the story was meant to give Godzilla more depth beyond that of just a giant monster, but Bride of Godzilla was canceled for unspecified reasons, perhaps because of its drastic difference in tone.
2 Frankenstein vs. Godzilla (1964)
Inconsistencies regarding the plot thus leading to Mothra vs. Godzilla instead
Frankenstein vs. Godzilla would have seen the Japanese military using Godzilla to destroy a giant Frankenstein ravaging the country. Frankenstein vs. Godzilla was one of Toho’s earliest attempts at a crossover between the Japanese icon and one of the West’s most famous creatures. However, the idea was scrapped because Toho couldn’t see Godzilla being a force of good so early in his legacy. Making Godzilla the good guy would have effectively undermined much of the anti-war rhetoric of previous movies. Despite its cancelation, elements of the scrapped idea were used for Godzilla: Final Wars – chiefly the idea of Godzilla being tricked into fighting other giant monsters on Japan’s behalf.
1 Batman vs. Godzilla (1966)
Was supposed to increase Godzilla’s popularity in America and Batman’s popularity in Japan
Batman vs. Godzilla would have seen Adam West’s Batman fight Godzilla in an effort to boost ratings for Godzilla in America and Batman in Japan, and would have been one of Godzilla’s best enemies if the movie came to fruition. Batman and Robin are tasked with defeating Godzilla, who is mind-controlled by German meteorologist, Klaus Finster, and it would compel Batman, Robin, and Batgirl to stop Godzilla from destroying Japan. Although two drafts were written, one by Shinichi Sekizawa and another by an unnamed American writer, the project was abandoned after Batman producer William Dozier learned that Batman vs. Godzilla was supposed to be a sequel to Batman: The Movie.
Godzilla is an iconic character that audiences have seen fight a wide range of foes, from mechanical versions of himself to giant primates from Hollow Earth throughout its near seven-decade-long history, so a movie featuring Godzilla going toe-to-toe with Batman of all characters doesn’t really seem like a stretch. However, with Batman‘s ratings declining around the time of the proposed movie’s development, Dozier decided a feature-length film featuring the two pop-culture icons wouldn’t be worth the effort. Despite being one of the greatest missed opportunities in cinematic history, Batman vs. Godzilla never coming to fruition didn’t hinder either Batman or Godzilla‘s popularity.
