It is great news that Godzilla is coming back to the big screens, and in a big American way. However, where does Legendary Pictures/Warner Bros. Godzilla leave Toho's Godzilla productions?
As fans know, Executive Producer Shogo Tomiyama announced in 2004 that Godzilla would be put on a ten-year hiatus due to slumping boxoffice receipts. That ten-year hiatus would end, based on Tomiyama's announced schedule, in 2014. That's only four years from now.
Legendary's/Warner Bros.'s Godzilla movie is slated to be released in 2012. Supposing that the movie is a big success, in both boxoffice receipts and with the critics (fan and non-fan), this would most likely prevent Toho from proceeding with a Godzilla production of their own. I am not privy to the contract between Legendary/Warner and Toho, but I would surmise that Legendary would have an option to produce sequels (Sony/TriStar did have an option, but let it lapse). If the agreement is an exclusive one, it might tie Toho's hands from producing a competing feature for the duration of the agreement. They can't have competing features. Or could they?
Maybe this was all in Toho's plans from the get-go. Perhaps they tired of producing Godzilla movies and decided to wait a few years to see if an American production company became interested in producing them. Toho sells the rights and sits back and collects the money. Why else would they demolish the famous giant pool on the Toho lot? CGI (water scenes) or not, the giant pool would be necessary for future Godzilla productions.
Will a Toho-produced Godzilla ever come back?
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