“Godzilla 2016” and “Godzilla 2” Figures in Development From Bandai America!

For over a decade and a half, Bandai America has been providing well-made and affordable vinyl figures of Godzilla and his various monster co-stars for North American fans, which have been available for purchase in Toys R Us’ and collectable shops for many years. Last year, after several years of consistent re-releases of older figures (with the exception of King Caesar in 2013), Bandai America scored the US merchandise rights to Legendary Picture’s Godzilla, for which they produced a series of vinyl and gimmick figures. However, many fans have held out hope that the company might one day return to producing new figures of classic Godzilla characters, among them Anguirus 1955 (from the first Godzilla sequel, Godzilla Raids Again) and Mecha-King Ghidorah (from 1991’s Godzilla vs King Ghidorah), for which prototypes were sculpted and promoted, but never released.

At the end of 2014, Bandai America, in a bid to connect with their fan base and find out what their consumers wanted from the future of the line, contacted Toho Kingdom, who worked with the company to set up an interview comprised of questions from fans, and a poll asking for each fan’s top five most desired new figures for the 6in. line. After nearly 8 months, the interview, featuring ten of the best fan questions, as well as the poll results, have been posted by Toho Kingdom.

Here is the full interview:

Is there a difficulty in releasing the Showa King Ghidorah? All Ghidorahs being made outside of the recent X-Plus seem to be from the Heisei series or Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001).

Bandai: There is not any difficulty from a sculpting/modeling standpoint as Bandai employs some of the best in the world, but we try to be conscientious of what characters or versions the majority of fans want to own since we're all collectors too. We understand the need for variety and will take this as a request and consider it for the future.

Mirjahangir: Do you ever look at other toy lines for ideas and inspiration for the Godzilla toy line?

Bandai: At Bandai we routinely look for inspiration from many different sources outside the toy industry as well as within, so it's not just other Godzilla figures or even other figure/toy lines that we derive inspiration from.

Mirjahangir: If Anguirus 1955 and Mecha-King Ghidorah ever get made would they be based off the original prototypes?

Bandai: If those prototypes are still available they would be a viable option especially knowing the amount of interest in them from our fans. If they were to be released, it wouldn't be until after the upcoming Godzilla movies as our first priority will be on providing fans figures of the characters they will see in those movies.

Mirjahangir: Will we ever see an Atomic Roar Godzilla that is based on a Japanese one? Like a Burning Godzilla, for example.

Bandai: It's possible, but for the most part, we try to always better our product offering with new and improved features year after year.

Mirjahangir: What were you unable to do in the Godzilla 2014 toy line that you wish you could have done?

Bandai: We were very pleased with the Godzilla 2014 line and it was a great success thanks to the fantastic movie by Legendary Films and Warner Brothers and fan support. If there is anything we wished could have been done is to have known to develop more product. It takes a year or more to develop product from start to finish, so when we started developing the line, we had no idea how huge the movie would be.

When the second one comes out we'll have a much better understanding of how many product options we can offer the fans and still have a successful line.

Mirjahangir: Was the 2014 movie toy line considered a success? It seemed to get very limited support from retail & rarely saw any restock in my area. And what would they like to do differently for the sequel? Any lessons learned?

Bandai: Most definitely the toy line was a great success for Bandai. The toys were available in all major retailers; in-store and online. There is still product available at select retail now. As fans have probably noticed with any movie property with toys, the further away from the movie's release, the less product there is as retailers make way for the next big movie title.

Mirjahangir: Is there any chance of getting a larger scale Female MUTO or 6 inch flying MUTO?

Bandai: With the new Japanese Godzilla movie coming out in 2016, we will be focusing on the characters from that film for future releases. Same thing can be said for the characters in the next American version of Godzilla from Warner Brothers and Legendary. It doesn't mean we won't ever do a MUTO figure, just not in the immediate future.

Mirjahangir: What are some other plans for the Godzilla toy line outside of the traditional 6 inch and 12 inch vinyl figures?

Bandai: We're always looking for new technologies and cool product features that will bring to life Godzilla and the brand's other characters. This focus is very important to us so we've already started researching new technologies and trends in preparation for the upcoming movie releases. We then determine what feature will go best with each character to really bring it to life.

Mirjahangir: Has Bandai America considered adding military vehicles or buildings with each monster that way kids and fans can build their own armies or cities?

Bandai: Bandai has produced many Godzilla action sets with vehicles and collapsing buildings over the years, so it's highly likely that tradition will continue in the future.

We love creating "crash and smash" products for this property because like most fans we're still kids at heart who love to reenact the destruction we've seen in the Godzilla movies.

Mirjahangir: Will we ever see a line with 4-6 ALL NEW figures again, like the first few waves?

Bandai: Bandai would love to since we are all true fans of the property, but it always depends on the characters in the films and the level of interest consumer have in the property. The more characters that are shown in the films, the more incentive we will have to produce each of those characters. We've heard that Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah will be in the next Godzilla movie in America, so those figures will definitely be created.

Mirjahangir: I'd like to thank Bandai America for doing this interview with us. In addition, Bandai has also shared with us the top 5 choices for a new non-Godzilla figure, which you all voted for in the poll we had on the site from December till February. The upcoming figure, however, will not be making it's debut until after the run of Godzilla 2016 figures next year. Below are the poll results:

1. Anguirus
2. Megalon
3. Titanosaurus
4. MUTO (Female)
5. Varan
6. Biollante

While the interview features some great hints as to the future of the previously mentioned Anguirus and Mecha-King Ghidorah prototypes, as well as some other tidbits about long requested characters like Varan and the Female MUTO, what stands out here is the conformation from Bandai America that products for next year’s Toho produced Godzilla film, directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, as well as figures of Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah from Legendary Pictures Godzilla 2 (2018) are currently in development! For American Godzilla fans, the fact that products for Toho’s newest entry in the series will be available in American toy stores is incredibly exciting, and continues to build upon the ever growing hype for the King of the Monsters' next great adventure.

So, what do you think? Are you excited to see what Bandai America creates for Toho’s Godzilla film next year, as well as Godzilla 2? What products do you hope to see from the company? Let us know, and be sure to check back often for further updates on the upcoming Godzilla films as we grow closer to 2016!

Info courtesy of Toho Kingdom.

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