The 1998 Godzilla Film Was Supposed to Spawn a Trilogy — Here’s What Would’ve Happened

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1998’s Godzilla, with a renowned director and significant backing from Hollywood, represented the initial attempt by an American studio to confront the original, breath-of-atomic fire creature from Japan, known as Godzilla.

Directed by blockbuster filmmaker Roland Emmerich (known for movies like “Stargate” and “Independence Day”) and produced by science fiction expert Dean Devlin (also behind “Stargate” and SYFY’s “The Ark”), the movie “Godzilla” represented a significant shift in the story of the iconic monster, whose 1950s origin was initially developed under Japanese production company Toho.

Initially intended to revive the famous Godzilla series for U.S. viewers, the movie “Godzilla” (airing this month on SYFY – check the schedule here!) was meant to be the first film in a monster trilogy envisioned by its creators. However, as fans of Godzilla are aware, even the most carefully designed human plans can veer off course. Apart from an animated spinoff series, nothing else from the American franchise that was supposed to follow never came to fruition.

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Why didn’t Godzilla (1998) get a full movie trilogy?

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Despite being a costly venture with a substantial production budget of $130 million and boasting large stars, the movie Godzilla didn’t flop at the box office. Instead, it raked in an impressive $379 million worldwide, nearly tripling its investment, ultimately positioning Godzilla as the third highest-earning film of 1998.

Although an American licensing agreement was established in 1992 and plans for the story of its potential sequel had been outlined since then, the original Godzilla movie didn’t ignite a monster trilogy – or any subsequent films, for that matter.

Despite Godzilla‘s impressive performance at the box office and being an enjoyable film for many viewers, it received significant criticism from reviewers. The majority of critics refused to embrace the movie’s modern interpretation of Toho’s original Godzilla concept. Furthermore, they found fault with both the appearance of Godzilla, as a reimagined Toho monster, and the acting performances, particularly that of star Matthew Broderick and several voice actors from The Simpsons, such as Harry Shearer, Nancy Cartwright, Hank Azaria, and Frank Welker.

Even though the studio behind Godzilla hasn’t provided an official reason for the early decline of the franchise, experts have since speculated that the studio saw the initial film’s success as a financial limit rather than a hurdle that subsequent films could surpass. As Screen Rant pointed out in a 2020 retrospective piece, given the negative response to the sequels, it seems the studio was hesitant to raise production costs for future films since the chances of one exceeding the success of the original were slim.

According to the same source, Devlin and Emmerich had progressed sufficiently in their sequel ideas to bring on board Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Tab Murphy to draft an initial script outline. If produced, this sequel would have shifted the action to Australia, with the offspring of Godzilla (as hinted at the end of the first film) engaging in adult combat against a colossal insect creature. The cityscape of Sydney was supposed to serve as the setting for this urban conflict.

After Devlin and Emmerich departed due to financial disagreements, the momentum for the sequel’s creative direction fizzled out, essentially putting a pause on Godzilla’s American reinvention. It wasn’t until 2014 that I could hear that iconic roar again in theaters, with the release of Godzilla, a reboot directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story)). Now, his next giant monster movie, Jurassic World Rebirth, is set to shake the ground at cinemas this summer. Grab your Jurassic tickets right here!

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2025-06-25 02:17