More Toho Kaiju In The MonsterVerse?

SasquaDash

With the recent news that Legendary has renewed their contract with Toho and that Godzilla will continue to be in the MonsterVerse, do you think theirs a good chance of seeing other Toho monsters introduced to the series? We've already seen Mothra, Rodan, King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla and a brief cameo of a skeleton that looked suspiciously like Anguirus (though due to international copyright laws, it wasn't), so who's next? Which monsters have a good chance of showing up in Phase 2 of The MonsterVerse?

Xenotaris

I want Biollante, Varan, Destoroyah and Zilla

sonictiger

Yeah, it feels likely.  Biollante, Anguirus, Varan, Gigan, Destroyah, Zilla, Jet Jaguar and Shin Goji should all show up.

Djdndnejwnwn

I’m not sure it’s likely, each IP is worth money so..

I’m not sure they’d spend that much money just for fans

G. H. (Gman)

HinikunaGoji,
Exactly. That financial gamble didn't pan out for King of the Monsters and, if rumors are true, led to Rodan being cut from GvK.

The TV show is already going to have an uphill battle of putting out similar visuals from episode to episode while trying to keep the costs down. Licensed monsters would just make that a lot tougher.

That said, I don't necessarily see it as an impossibility, just a supremely unlikely one. Best case scenario is it's mostly original monsters and much, much fewer Toho kaiju.

SasquaDash

G. H. (Gman)

Maybe not for the show, but it's possible that they could be used in the future. It seems unlikely that Legendary would renegotiate their contract with Toho and purchase the right to use Godzilla, to only use him in this one show. It's likely that we'll probably have some more movies and comics with Godzilla, so it's possible that some other Toho kaiju could show up in them.

Trash panda

Yeah, the cost of using other Toho monsters would probably be greater, if not maybe a little less than what they paid to use Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah, so they may not have them due to financial reasons but they might, idk have a small cameo or mention of some of them. But as for my chose to see what Toho monster in the show, I’d go with Baragon, Gigan and Megalon

Djdndnejwnwn

SasquaDash

I can’t really see Toho kaiju becoming titans, even in movies, not only because they each are attached a cost, but as in previous times we see they don’t really attract crowds. So it would be easier to make up new ones then spend money on monsters that typically wouldn’t affect the box office.

G. H. (Gman)

HinikunaGoji,
Agreed. Several box office analysts point out that while Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah meant a lot to fans, they were indistinguishable from the 2014 enemy monsters to the general audience. It was simply sold as another "Godzilla fights other monsters" movie which feels like (and is) a retread.

I just don't see it as a gamble worth taking. After all, if Toho's most popular names in their repertoire didn't draw a crowd why would more obscure monsters like, say, Gigan?

It's much safer to go the Hanna Barbara/Marvel route and have Godzilla fight original creations.

XarKhaan

as much as id love to see the other Toho monsters in the Monsterverse i dont think there needed per se at least most of them  we have Methuselah for Anguirus,  Scylla for Kumonga, Tiamat for Manda, and im sure some of the other Titans fill similar slots for the other Toho monsters only Toho monsters i can see coming over new would be Biolante and Destroyah   Gigan possibly slim but possible.    Now when dealing with an existing property with a Huge fanbase   the mistake many studios make is  ignoring the existing fans and worrying about the non fans.  well see nothing can kill a Movie/show faster than Pissing off the existing fan base. you have to have some kind of balance.  I think KOTM "failure" wasnt because of Rodan, Mothra, Ghidorah. not drawing in people I think KOTM not doing well was a fluke. there was no rhyme of reason for it. personally i liked it  i wish Rodan and Mothra had had a bit for screen time and had done more and i think the lack of there appearance in GvsK had more to do with the complaints that KOTM had to many monsters.  theres really only 2 formulas for a Godzilla movie Godzilla vs humans or Godzilla vs other monsters both are "retreads" even if you say Godzilla vs aliens hes still fighting monsters so..  not much they can do New with Godzilla   

SasquaDash

King of the Monsters was also released around the same time as Avengers: Endgame, which made over 2.7 billion, and the Aladdin remake, which made over 1 billion. Both of these films over shadowed Godzilla, which was one of the reasons why it underperformed. Its underperformance had nothing to do with it having the other Toho kaiju in it.

G. H. (Gman)

"Its underperformance had nothing to do with it having the other Toho kaiju in it."

It certainly didn't foster a reason for the GA to see it either though--which would largely be the intent for spending money on them in the first place.

Djdndnejwnwn

SasquaDash

Thats my point, American audiences don’t care about Toho kaiju. They didn’t detract from the audiences they just didn’t contribute at all. If they had had some allure, then it might have stood some chance against those films

SasquaDash

HinikunaGoji

G. H. (Gman)

Valid point, though it doesn't necessarily mean that some other Toho kaiju can't make appearances in the future, or that Mothra, Rodan and Ghidorah won't return either.

Djdndnejwnwn

SasquaDash

I just don’t think it’s likely

SasquaDash

HinikunaGoji

I think at the very least we might see Mothra, Rodan and Ghidorah make more appearances in the MonsterVerse, since they already have established roles in the series.

DarkoRaptor

cool

Djdndnejwnwn

SasquaDash

This is just me, but I always consider MV Mekagoji as Ghidorah and when people saying Ghidorah could come back, I say “Three Ghidorahs?” And nobody knows what I’m talking about

SasquaDash

HinikunaGoji

Technically speaking, the MonsteVerse Mechagodzilla could be considered a form of Ghidorah, since it was built using one of Ghidorah's brains to control it, and was later taken over by Ghidorah's consciousness. 

I think Ghidorah should return in the MonsterVerse, but personally, I don't think that Ghidorah should keep being revived over and over again, as I feel like that would become a bit too repetitive. However, King of the Monsters actually set up a pretty good way for Ghidorah to return in a way that feels natural to the story, by having him come to Earth in prehistoric times and having an ancient rivalry with Godzilla. I really liked how Godzilla and Ghidorah's battle in that movie wasn't the first time they met, but instead felt like a chapter in a much larger story. I think they could (and possibly should) explore that ancient rivalry in future installments. 

Gojirafan2013

@G. H. (Gman): I agree. While I doubt people were driven away by the inclusion of Mothra, Rodan, and Ghidorah, their inclusion didn’t really help the film succeed at the box office. For kaiju fans, seeing three of Toho’s most iconic monsters on the big screen was a huge deal since they already see those monsters as actual characters. But when it comes to general audiences, they mostly watch these movies for monster action, and don’t see a deeper meaning in the monsters portrayed on screen. I also doubt they see them as characters, with the exception of Kong, as he is an American icon and more humanoid in appearance.

While I’m not doubting that general audiences may have enjoyed seeing Mothra, Rodan, and Ghidorah visually portrayed on screen in KOTM, I doubt that they super invested in the ways the monsters were portrayed as characters. They probably went to their local theater, saw the movie, enjoyed the monster action, and then left the theater thinking “Man, this movie was a fun ride, and seeing Godzilla incinerate Ghidorah at the end was incredible…Anyway, avengers assemble!” What I’m trying to say is that they probably saw KOTM as good filler to keep them entertained before they got the chance to see Avengers: Endgame while it was still playing in theaters. 

This goes to show that the Kaiju Genre is not as popular among mainstream audiences as fans seem to think it is. 

XarKhaan

@jack capellini   thats the thing there well Mothra and Rodan didnt attract anybody new it also didnt deter anybody i dont think having 2 brand new monsters would have done anything to attract new people either  KOTM just came out at a bad time of the year. blaming its box office results on the monsters is like blaming the dog for its fleas.

G. H. (Gman)

XarKhaan,
No one is blaming the box office on them--The initial point is including them didn't do anything to attract general audiences who probably saw them no differently than an original creation. (Like the MUTO.)

And while we can blame its release date being put in the center of a Disney minefield, keep in mind it was WB that moved the film to that claustrophobic window from a much safer March release date. So they must've thought it was going to do better. (For some reason.) Reviews likely didn't help either as audiences tend to depend on that when there's an influx of blockbusters they're not sure which to spend money on.

Gojirafan2013

@G. H. (Gman): Exactly. If general audiences see Toho monsters no differently than original monsters, is there really a point in licensing more of them in the future? This is why I keep arguing that purchasing Showa Era monsters like Gorosaurus, Manda, Baragon, and Kumonga would be pointless, as Legendary could just make their own similar looking monsters and have them fill the same role.