Shin Godzilla’s proposed 6th form would have been horrifically different from the monster’s other stages. Godzilla made his big screen debut in 1954, with the legendary kaiju having taken on many shapes and sizes throughout the decades. The original film is a dark, despairing monster movie that’s using the title beast as subtext to explore the trauma left behind in the aftermath of the nuclear attacks on Japan in World War 2. Toho soon expanded Godzilla into a movie franchise, that balanced darker outings like The Return Of Godzilla with goofier entries like 1967’s Son Of Godzilla.
Godzilla might be an iconic monster, but it took a bizarrely long time for the creature to make his American film debut. This can actually be explained by the collapse of a proposed 1983 blockbuster called Godzilla: King Of The Monsters In 3D, which was unable to attract big studios who felt the premise would only appeal to children. Roland Emmerich helmed 1998’s much-loathed Godzilla, which was a dumb blockbuster with poorly judged comedy and a lack of respect for its main beast. Godzilla is now the main star of the MonsterVerse, having led three out of the franchise’s four outings, including 2021’s Godzilla Vs Kong – which has a definitive winner.
Arguably the most underrated take on the monster is 2016’s Shin Godzilla, a Toho-produced reboot. This version of Godzilla is the result of a marine animal contaminated by nuclear waste that evolved into a creature that continued to evolve throughout the story. Shin Godzilla adapted to meet any attack thrown at it, going through four forms before being frozen in the finale by a blood coagulant. Even then, the final shot reveals its tail is morphing into a new form, showing H.R. Giger-inspired creatures swarming out. This indicated it was adapting to mankind after they defeated him, but concept art shows where Shin Godzilla’s 6th form could have gone.
Shin Godzilla’s Unused Final Form
In The Art Of Shin Godzilla book, there are numerous pieces of concept art showing off alternate evolutionary stages for Shin Godzilla. One alternative to the humanoid creatures seen in the finale was more feminine, angelic-looking monsters, while other Shin Godzilla form ideas include the creature gaining the ability to fly. Apparently, Shin Godzilla’s 6th form would have seen the monster shed its traditional form entirely, likely due to being defeated in that shape. It would instead melt into a mass of flesh, like some kind of H.P. Lovecraft monstrosity, with its humanoid spawn continuing to attack humanity. A deleted scene hinted at the concept Shin Godzilla’s blown-off flesh could reform and become a separate lifeform and were basically being lumps of flesh with eyes – which also nodded towards this unused form.
The Art Of Shin Godzilla also shows concept art of Shin Godzilla – which changed much of the creature’s lore – developing a second Godzilla within its body, like a conjoined twin. It’s unknown how concrete plans for a Shin Godzilla 6th form were, though the mass of pulpy flesh is a particularly horrifying direction for its evolution to take. Sadly, plans for Shin Godzilla 2 were canned by Toho, so fans won’t get to see the beast’s next evolution.
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