Failed Attempt at American Godzilla Franchise Gets Second Shot with Unmade Sequel

The never-made sequel to Godzilla 1998 was supposed to be a fresh start for the franchise. After the monster's debut in the Japanese classic Gojira in 1954 and appearing in 21 Japanese sequels, the first American attempt to center a feature around the titular irradiated monster was met with disappointment. Starring Matthew Broderick and directed by Roland Emmerich of Independence Day fame, the movie did not perform well at the box office and received negative reviews from both critics and audiences.

Recently, Yahoo! Entertainment had a conversation with Dean Devlin, the producer and co-screenwriter of Godzilla 1998, about some of his projects that never came to fruition. One of these was the sequel to Godzilla 1998, which was ultimately cancelled and prevented a potential trilogy. Devlin revealed that the sequel would have starred Broderick and followed his character to Monster Island, where a Godzilla hatchling, teased in the first film, would have encountered Mothra and Rodan. This encounter would have resulted in Godzilla being transformed into a hero, rather than remaining an amoral force of nature.

The decision we made about Godzilla being neither good nor evil might have sounded intellectual in the room, but it was a terrible approach for making a successful movie. We portrayed Godzilla as an animal that was just trying to reproduce and survive, which made it a threat to humanity. While this was a unique perspective, it didn't provide the audience with a clear idea of how they were supposed to feel about the title character.

Our team was really keen on taking the story to Monster Island. In the original Godzilla movies, the monster started off as a villain but eventually became a hero when Monster Island was introduced. Our previous animated series and sequel had already established the idea of transforming Godzilla into a hero. This was done so that in the next movie, Godzilla would be the savior and not the destroyer. We were determined to make things right after realizing our mistake in the previous film.

I have so much PTSD from my experience with Godzilla, I could never bring myself to watch the new version. That chapter of my life is closed.

Entirely Rebooting Godzilla Was the Best Idea

It's no secret that the 1998 version of Godzilla was a flop, and screenwriter Dean Devlin was well aware of this fact. In fact, he anticipated the need for damage control with Godzilla 2. However, simply writing a new script wouldn't be enough to undo the damage that had been done to the franchise's public image. The film had become a focal point of bad movie criticism, so much so that the Japanese studio Toho even featured the 1998 version of Godzilla meeting a violent end in their 2004 film Godzilla: Final Wars.

Part 5:

Despite its initial failure, the 1998 Godzilla film did have some positive effects on the franchise. For one, it paved the way for a major American adaptation of the iconic monster. More importantly, it created a sense of urgency among filmmakers to get the character right. Without the disappointment of the 1998 film, it's possible that the 2014 Godzilla movie may not have been as successful or even made at all. This success has led to a whole new world of monster movies, culminating in the highly anticipated Godzilla vs. Kong sequel. So while the 1998 film may have been a bomb, it played an important role in the evolution of the franchise.

Source: Yahoo! Entertainment