You have used all your credits for this month. Please add more credits to continue.

by

If Toho had chosen to implement one of their initial ideas for “Destroy All Monsters,” their walrus kaiju would be a significant part of Godzilla’s legacy today. It’s often recognized that Godzilla is the mainstay of Toho, but it’s worth mentioning that they produced several monster films beyond the Godzilla franchise, with varying degrees of success. Notable examples include Rodan, Mothra, and War of the Gargantuas.

In numerous instances, a link to Godzilla was absent initially but developed over time, as observed with Rodan and Mothra. One notable movie, “Destroy All Monsters“, bridged several monster films into the broader Godzilla universe by portraying them as his allies, including Varan from “Varan the Unbelievable“, Manda from “Atragon“, and Baragon from “Frankenstein vs. Baragon“. Interestingly, these weren’t the only standalone films Toho almost integrated into Godzilla’s world. The film “Gorath” nearly joined this realm, with Maguma serving as its representative.

Maguma Nearly Appeared In Destroy All Monsters

Maguma Was Supposed To Help Godzilla Beat King Ghidorah

1962 saw Toho unveil the science fiction disaster film Gorath, where humanity attempts to prevent an asteroid named Gorath from striking Earth. Near the movie’s end, attempts to save Earth inadvertently awakened a colossal sea monster, Maguma, who bore a resemblance to a walrus. In the brief conflict between Maguma and the human characters of Gorath, the creature was eventually eliminated by their sophisticated weaponry. However, due to its limited appearance during the climax, Gorath is not generally categorized as a classic kaiju movie.

Even though it didn’t happen, Maguma almost managed a shocking return in Destroy All Monsters. As per John LeMay’s book “The Big Book of Giant Japanese Monsters: The Lost Films”, an early version of Destroy All Monsters included Maguma among the monsters controlled by the alien antagonists. There was even a scene where Maguma would be seen protecting the aliens’ spaceship.

In this monster-filled extravaganza, I found myself rooting for Maguma, a character who, like his fellow beastly cohorts, would have broken free from their captors. This freedom would have set the stage for an epic team-up against Ghidorah, spearheaded by none other than Godzilla himself, towards the end of the film. However, in this particular narrative, Maguma and Ebirah, Horror of the Deep’s formidable Ebirah, were envisioned as key allies of Godzilla during the climactic battle against Ghidorah. Yet, as the script underwent revisions, certain monsters (including Maguma) were regrettably removed, making room for new ones to step into their roles.

Maguma Is Only Loosely Connected To The Godzilla Franchise

Maguma Has Appeared In Some Godzilla Media, But Isn’t Canon To Any Of The Live-Action Movies

Since Maguma was merely a minor character in the less popular Toho film, “Destroy All Monsters,” it could be said that this movie offered him his best chance at becoming significant. The characters Baragon and Manda show what a difference his presence might have made; he would have become an integral part of Godzilla’s history if he had been there, paving the way for future franchise roles. Eventually, Baragon reappeared in “Godzilla, Mothra, and Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack,” while Manda made a comeback as a secondary adversary in “Godzilla: Final Wars.

Maguma might have had the chance to aid Godzilla, as seen in the movie “Destroy All Monsters”, but instead, he is a creature with few ties to Godzilla’s realm. He has only been featured sparsely in Godzilla media, such as comic books and mobile games. To date, he hasn’t appeared in any films since his debut in 1962’s “Gorath”. Currently, his most significant connection to the franchise is through a novelization of one of Netflix’s Godzilla anime movies, “Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters”, where it was revealed that Maguma destroyed North Korea in that continuity’s timeline.

In the realm of Godzilla tales, Maguma might still assume these roles, however, it’s probable he’ll be missing from the live-action part of his universe. Hypothetically, Toho could reintroduce him in a future edition of the Godzilla series, particularly if they plan another grand team-up similar to Destroy All Monsters. However, considering the minimal excitement that would surround the character, the possibility of this occurring appears quite slim.

Read More

2025-05-30 21:11