Man-in-suit movies haven’t been big box office draws in the United States since the 1960s. Even then they paled in comparison to the success of the genre in Asia. GODZILLA was a big film here but nothing like it has been in Japan. The awful remake continued the drought of these types of movies which is set to end with the release of PACIFIC RIM.
With PACIFIC RIM poised to be one of the biggest movies of the summer, director Guillermo Del Toro is obviously thinking long term with the franchise possibilities inherent in giant robots and monsters. GODZILLA is being rebooted for a release next year, so would there be any chance at getting a crossover between the two series?>
In an interview with Collider, Del Toro ponders the possibility of such a match-up:
So far with the sequel, what we’re writing, what we’re creating, is very different, so there are no plans. Hypothetically, I would love the fuck out of it. I would love to see a jaeger and Godzilla duke it out. That would be too much for the human brain. But I don’t think there are plans on that. I don’t even know what direction they’re taking Godzilla in. I know somewhat that it’s grounded differently. Pacific Rim, my aspiration was, the color, the saturation of color, was almost an acid-drip version of the Heavy Metal coloring that I loved when Richard Corben was working there, when [Jean-Claude] Forest was working there. Super bright, super saturated, the crazy color and aesthetic. And Godzilla is more realistic, somewhat. That’s my thinking. That’s what I’ve heard. I don’t even know which way they’re going.
It would certainly be a huge box office draw if these two got on the same page, but it would really depend on the success of both films. If GODZILLA proves to be a hit next year, maybe after a sequel each they could try and combine into a mega-movie. It certainly helps that both are being produced by Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros.
Here’s to hoping this pipe dream actually becomes a reality! PACIFIC RIM opens July 12, 2013 and GODZILLA on May 16, 2014.
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