Other than another alien Titan, the next big bad could be a genetically engineered Titan.

Xenotaris

I don’t think polygon will get the Godzilla Franchise anymore.

Based on the reception of they’re last outing, I doubt toho would take that gamble, as the anime trilogy didn’t preform amazingly

HinikunaGoji

I was just listing an example who worked on the godzilla IP, I would have also mentioned Tri-Star buuuuuut that is a HUGE sore spot for some fans

HinikunaGoji

In all honesty, it felt like Polygon didn't "get" the franchise even when they had access to it. It seemed like it was a giant monster trilogy that didn't want to be about giant monsters and it actively tried to avoid having the monsters in it. It seemed like they used the monsters begrudgingly, as if their involvement got in the way. They didn't even seem to understand the monsters that they used in the films, from turning Godzilla into a metallic plant, Mechagodzilla into a city, and Ghidorah into celestial tapeworms, they really seemed to not know what they were doing. That, along with the directors and writers essentially looking down at the the franchise and the fanbase, with some of them even stating how they didn't even bother to watch any of the movies because the felt it was "below them", it's honestly baffling as to why Toho would give them the rights to make anything involving Godzilla. Seriously, the 1998 film felt more inline with what Godzilla was, and that's saying something. People can say what they want about Legendary and the Monsterverse, they at least know what they're doing for the most part, and seem to get the franchise and the appeal of it.

HG, I didn't leave anywhere lol.

SD, Legendary only knows because they don't really rely on IP for the most part.

SasquaDash

I actually really like the concepts in the anime trilogy, I was more talking about the films finical success, but since we’re here….

I get everything about you’re complaints, but Godzilla Earth is amazing. I feel they nailed him. Even though it takes him 15 minutes to move an inch, he had a very good screen presence to me, and the themes (music and philosophy) really worked and resonated with me. He actually felt god like.

But Monsterverse has a better grasp of the franchise as a whole. They know how to introduce main kaiju in a generally satisfying way. 

MonsterVerse just is amazing with it's intros

sonictiger

I particularly love the intro to KOTM. Bear Mcrearys score was amazing. I saw the movie in IMAX when I first saw it, it was amazing

HinikunaGoji,
The anime trilogy has actually been cited as a success and it's not hard to surmise why. The theatrical releases were announced alongside the Netflix releases--Which sounds like a company trying to shoot itself in the foot. Why see a movie in theaters when you can just wait an extra month to see it on a streaming service? Add to the fact that the films were limited theatrical releases, the worldwide Netflix deal likely made Polygon/Toho buckets of money before they ever even hit theaters.

As for the trilogy itself, I'm glad some like minded people have re-evaluated it for the better. It expands reasons to watch the franchise instead of going through the same, humdrum, cookie-cutter routine we've seen for 67 years. I'm glad we've seen more experimentation with the franchise in that vein. The Monsterverse gets surface level tenants right, but for Hollywood, I guess that's all it can afford to do.

G. H. (Gman)

I thought it did not well in the Japanese box office, but maybe I’m wrong.

Ive always liked the trilogy, even when it came out. But avoided the third film for a long time because of reveiws on it. But I got around to it and enjoyed it. 

HinikunaGoji,
They didn't do well at the Japanese Box Office, but, as usual, context is king. They were only released in 158-159 theaters and their theatrical releases were announced at the same time as the Netflix releases, which were only a month later. Compare that to the 366-448 theaters the other Godzilla films have opened in Japan since 2014 and that's a massive disadvantage.

Also note that audiences knew the movies would be on Netflix a month after the theatrical premieres and it's not a lot of incentive. Also recall Netflix spends hundreds of millions for the acquisiton of movies on their streaming service just for specific regions. A worldwide exclusive deal with Polygon/Toho would not have only made up for the production budgets, but made a hefty profit.

Essentially, it's most likely the anime trilogy made all of its money on Netflix--Which, to be fair, has proven to be a pretty easy model to make money off of. The theatrical releases were just so Toho could squeeze a few more pennies out of it.

G. H. (Gman)

I don't want to sound too combative, but in my opinion the Polygon Trilogy felt like overly pretentious mess that really didn't seem to get what made the franchise popular. I find it ironic that the 1998 movie continues to be hated for being different and for the people involved not caring enough for the franchise, yet the Polygon Trilogy gets a pass despite being guilty of exact same thing. The director and writers literally praised themselves for disappointing the fans and then pretty much implied that those who didn't like their work were too stupid to get it, they even went on record stating that they didn't bother watching to older films because they felt like they were "above it". They publicly showed how little they cared for the franchise and the fans, and based on their own statements it seems like they went out of there way to disrespect the series as much as they could, rather than honoring it. Yet somehow despite this they still get a free pass for it. There's honestly times where I wonder if the Polygon Trilogy or Singular Point were made by an American film studio, would they still get a pass? Or would the fanbase rip it apart in the same way they did to 1998?

@SasquaDash

that was a good speech

SasquaDash,
Pretentious, maybe, but I don't see the comparison with the 1998 film in the least. Roland Emmerich full on explained he was not a Godzilla fan and even claimed after trying to watch 5 or 6 he couldn't go on any further. He didn't want to make the movie to begin with and lamented that he never got to make his asteroid-centric disaster film. [Source]

Hiroyuki Sesheta, by contrast, had said he was an avid Godzilla fan multiple times and has seen the entire series. In the Washington Post article, he highlighted the intentional attempt to reach out to a different audience: “We welcome getting bashed by the traditionalists. That proves more than anything we succeeded in creating something different.” And all that co-director Kobun Shizuno said was, “I’m not a Godzilla expert and so I simply made a film I thought would be enjoyable.” Nowhere is it stated they, "didn't bother watching to older films because they felt like they were 'above it'." Quite the opposite since Sesheta was a fan and Shizuno teamed up with him to get core tenants about the character correct. I get how some of these quotes rub fans the wrong way, but to go as far as to say they, "showed how little they cared for the franchise," is going pretty far based on no evidence.

That's a far, far cry from the 1998 producer Dean Devlin saying, "Both of us [Emmerich] thought it was a dopey idea the first time we talked." [Source] Or Emmerich saying, ""I was never a big Godzilla fan, they were just the weekend matinees you saw as a kid, like Hercules films and the really bad Italian westerns. You’d go with all your friends and just laugh." Among a laundry list of other things. [Source]

As for your pondering, I too often wonder if the Monsterverse were made by Toho, shot-for-shot, but with Japanese actors and tokusatsu visuals would it still be beloved? Or just considered another rehash of the same'ole, same'ole?

SasquaDash

To be fair, many don’t actually praise the anime trilogy 

HinikunaGoji,
Also true.

Regardless, I think this narrative that the anime trilogy co-directors "hated the franchise and fanbase," has been blown incredibly out of proportion by those looking for extra ammo against it.

And the 1998 advertising campaign also helped generate hate for the movie, and 1998 own it’s own doesn’t necessarily succeed as a movie. The polygon trilogy has more of a chance 

well this went off topic really fast

Let's face it, GMTs would be ripping off of Jurassic World and frankly I doubt that the MonsterVerse would be executing this tired GMO concept better than JW.

Just saying.

sonictiger

its not like Jurassic world did GMO first

Biollante

So by that logic did Jurassic World rip off Godzilla vs. Biollante from 26 years before it or...