Legendary Pictures Pushing "Godzilla" Hard At Comic Con

Legendary Pictures' Godzilla push at this year's Comic Con has generated a lot of media buzz.

The buzz continues at Forbes.com:

With the Godzilla experience and a panel at Comic-Con’s giant Hall H, the studio is giving Godzilla the full court press. Legendary is now moving from Warner Bros. to Universal where it won’t have access to the DC Comics characters that have helped make Legendary so successful. Instead, Legendary head Thomas Tull will have to work on finding new material that he can translate into huge franchises. If Godzilla is a hit it will certainly turn into a franchise and one with lucrative merchandising and spin-off potential. It could even result in a real theme park ride akin to the Godzilla experience at Comic-Con. If the film is a flop, Tull will have to keep looking for the next big thing.

The article laments the good word-of-mouth for Pacific Rim hasn't translated into more people flocking to theaters to see it. So far, it has earned $110 million at the box office. They wonder if the 2014 Godzilla will suffer in the same way.

However, there is a big difference between the two. Pacific Rim is a new concept in the U.S. (although it is more "old hat" in Japan) with flashy special effects. Godzilla, on the other hand, is an established character with a built-in fan base. If the Godzilla word-of-mouth is favorable next year, it could make the difference between failure and success.  The 1998 TriStar Godzilla did make money, but the poor reviews (deservedly so) ended up causing the movie be less successful than it could have been.

From what I've seen so far, Legendary Pictures appears to be treating the character as it should be: as a nuclear terror. TriStar treated it as a joke. From what little we've seen of the Godzilla design, it appears to be undoubtedly Godzilla (I like how the fans are saying it looks "majestic" and "massive"). TriStar's was nothing more than a mutated iguana who eats fish and lays eggs. It didn't look like Godzilla and didn't act like Godzilla. Legendary seems to be "doing it right" this time.

We have a year to go before we see how it all pans out.

To read the Forbes article, go here.