In early 2007, to keep interest for the Godzilla franchise high and to promote the upcoming release of Godzilla Unleashed, Toho announced a partnership with American studio Johnson Studios to re-shoot and enhance the existing Godzilla films, as well as make unrecognized Godzilla films, tie together the Godzilla, Gamera, and Ultraman franchises, and even make original films. The Godzilla films were all broadcast on WBC (Western Broadcasting Company) beginning in August 2007. A theatrical Johnson-made Godzilla film was released in June 2012.
Production[]
One of the main goals of the new movies was to tie together the three eras (Showa, Heisei, and Millenium) into one single timeline. This was accomplished by having new Godzillas take the throne in certain movies.
The Johnson Godzilla films are the catalyst for what is known as the Johnson Aligned Universe. The series hierarchy can be seen on a page coming soon.
To date, 4 different Godzillas have been seen, not counting the two incarnations of Alien Godzilla, and the later Clone Godzilla and Evil Godzilla of the new theatrical films. Each Godzilla looks different from the other:
Godzilla I[]
The original Godzilla, and the shortest-lived Godzilla. He is perhaps the most infamous and evil Godzilla, mainly due to him being the first of the Godzillas, and he died hating humanity. His motives were simple: destroy humanity and let the last of the dinosaurs retake the Earth. Like the original version, he was killed by the Oxygen Destroyer. The suit used was a replica of the ShodaiGoji suit, though modified with moving eyes, closeable eyelids, and charcoal grey coloring instead of brown. The suit has seen several other uses.
Godzilla II[]
The longest-serving Godzilla, and the one that pointed the Earth Defenders down the path of good. Between 1955 and 1991, Godzilla II was a fixture of global pop culture. He was the first Godzilla to be mind-controlled, the first to fight another monster, and the first to fight extra-terrestrial threats, especially the Vortaak. He also invaded the Soviet Union during World War III in 1986 alongside Anguirus and leveled Moscow. He died in 1991 after being accidentily infected with the ANEB. Later, he was revived as the cyborg Kiryu and fought a second Alien Godzilla in 2001. After long-term exposure to Alien Godzillas radiactivity, Godzilla II was able to function independent of the suit. He still lives on Monster Island, serving as a mentor and advisor for his grandson, Godzilla IV. The suit used is a replica of the MegaroGoji suit, modified with a more wicked expression initially, before softening as the series went on. The suit is still used to portray Godzilla II.
Godzilla III[]
Born in 1967 on Solgell Island as Minya, Godzilla III inherited the title of King of the Monsters in 1991 following his father's death. Being raised among children initially, Godzilla III was immediately ready to defend against a new King Ghidorah. He served valiantly against Battra, the first Alien Godzilla, and Spacegodzilla. Like the original, he died when his heart melted down, however, instead of it being the result of being fired upon by the Super X-III, it was a result of a direct stab in the heart by Megalon, whom he eventually defeated. The suit used was MogeGoji, initially brought to WBC for use in the 1997 blockbuster EarthBound along with the ShoshingekiAngira and HeiseiGhido suits, before seeing use in Monster World as the main Godzilla suit. It was used in Monster World productions until the 2015 revival movie, when it was transferred back to the main series to portray Godzilla V after the events of Nemesis.
Godzilla IV[]
The current-serving Godzilla, and quite possibly the friendliest and most powerful. This Godzilla has fought off the largest alien invasions, and the biggest Mutant infestations, and also played a pivotal role during Operation: Clone Wars. He was the first monster to fight Zilla and Cloverfield, and the first Godzilla to visit the American East Coast. He inherited the Spiral Beam from his father, and is the first Godzilla with the ability to fire Atomic Fireballs. This Godzilla is often seen as the flagship kaiju of Johnson Studios' kaiju productions. The suit is FinalGoji, the newest Toho-made Godzilla suit and is still in use. After the events of Nemesis and the 2015 revival of Monster World, the suit swapped places with MogeGoji.
Alien Godzilla I[]
The Vortaak's answer to the "Godzilla problem", the alien clone of Godzilla was noted for his mental instability. He was deployed by the Vortaak in 1993. This Godzilla could fire Atomic Fireballs that would airburst over cities; this was used to destroy Kyoto and Sendai. He was killed by the first Mechagodzilla 2 produced. His body is currently held at the Global Defense Force headquarters in Tokyo, undergoing studies to better understand Godzillas biology. The suit used was a replica of the 84Goji suit, as the original suit was stolen and never found.
Alien Godzilla II[]
The second Alien Godzilla was deployed in 2001 in response to the failure of Orga in 1999. This Alien Godzilla was much more mental stable, and proved himself a competent hand-to-hand fighter. He was killed during the closing stages of the Vortaak War in 2012. The suit used was the KiryuGoji suit.
Evil Godzilla[]
A previously dormant Godzilla was discovered by the scientist Shinji Mustafa, who proposed making him a cyborg. After being shunned by the scientific community for his cloning experiments involving the cells of slain Vortaak monsters, he took his Godzilla with him and unleashed him upon an unsuspecting Tokyo. He was killed in Tokyo during Operation: Clone Wars I by Mecha-King Ghidorah 5 (MKG-5), under the command of Len and Rin Kagamine. The suit used was BioGoji, refurbished by Johnson Studios. After filming of Vocaloid & Godzilla: The Battle for Earth, the suit was returned to Toho.
Clone Godzilla[]
Using the cells of Alien Godzilla II, Dr. Mustafa made a clone Godzilla. To differentiate him from his template, Clone Godzilla was given green scales, a common mistake among consumers, especially the Hannah-Barbera Godzilla. He was the first monster to surface during Operation: Clone Wars I, attacking Tokyo and intentionally giving chase to a group of teenagers (two of whom were noted for having unnatural hair color, a trend that has mysteriously appeared in recent years, but is thought to have been a result of ambient alien energy). He was killed by Godzilla IV in a junkyard. A second Clone Godzilla looking exactly like the first was deployed in December, but was killed by ND-1 (a MechaGodzilla 2 piloted by Fuyuki Hinata) and ND-2 (a MOGUERA piloted by Momoka Nishizawa) (ND means Nishizawa Defense). Four suits have been used to portray Clone Godzilla: the MireGoji suit in most appearances, and replicas of the MosuGoji, KingGoji, and ShoshingekiGoji suits.
Gallery[]
All of the incarnations of Godzilla.
Movies[]
- Gojira (AKA Godzilla 1954)
- Godzilla Raids Again
- Godzilla vs King Kong
- Godzilla vs Mothra
- Godzilla vs King Ghidorah (original title Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster)
- Godzilla vs Monster Zero
- Godzilla Mothra Ebirah Battle for the Whales (original title Godzilla vs The Sea Monster)
- Son of Godzilla
- Destroy All Monsters
- Godzilla vs Gabara (original title All Monsters Attack/Godzilla's Revenge)
- Space Amoeba
- Godzilla vs Hedorah
- Godzilla vs Gigan
- Godzilla vs Megalon
- Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla
- Terror of Mechagodzilla
- Godzilla vs Mogu (Adaptation of Return of King Ghidorah)
- Godzilla vs Redmoon
- Godzilla vs Asuka Fortress
- Godzilla 1985 (story changed)
- Godzilla Destroys The USSR (AKA Godzilla vs The Communists and Godzilla vs The Reds)
- Godzilla vs Biollante
- Godzilla and Mothra vs Bagan
- Godzilla vs King Ghidorah 2
- Godzilla vs Battra
- Godzilla vs Alien Godzilla
- Godzilla vs Spacegodzilla
- Godzilla vs Destoroyah
- Godzilla vs Shiigan
- Mothra Leo vs Desghidorah
- Mothra Leo vs Daghara
- Mothra Leo vs Grand King Ghidorah
- Godzilla vs Zilla (AKA Godzilla 1998)
- Godzilla 2000 (AKA Godzilla Millenium, Godzilla vs Orga)
- Godzilla & Rodan vs Megaguirus
- Godzilla vs Alien Godzilla 2
- Godzilla Alien Godzilla 3
- Destroy All Monsters 2
- Godzilla vs Anguirus Baragon & Varan
- Godzilla Save The Earth
- Godzilla Final Wars
- Godzilla vs Jirass
- Godzilla & Gamera vs Zedus
- Godzilla Unleashed
- Godzilla vs Cloverfield
- Godzilla vs Yonggary
- Godzilla: Super Fight
- Godzilla: Defender of Sendai
- Godzilla 2012
- Vocaloid & Godzilla: The Battle For Earth (Theatrical, Vocaloid crossover, first Vocaloid movie)
- Vocaloid & Godzilla 2: Mustafa Strikes Back (Theatrical)
- Vocaloid & Godzilla 3: Finest Hour (Theatrical)
- Sgt. Frog: The Great Rescue (AKA Vocaloid & Godzilla 3 1/2: Megalon Strikes Back) (theatrical movie; Vocaloid and Sgt. Frog crossover; first Sgt. Frog movie made in America)
- Nemesis (Theatrical)