When do Legendary's rights to Godzilla expire?

[franzilla]

I was under the impression that Toho got all their rights back after GvKK, but the internet is wild on speculating "!" and "WHICH MONSTERS WILL SHOW UP IN GODZILLA 3?"

So which is it?

I thought Toho was interested in starting their own shared universe again after GvsKK, so I don't see any Legendary G movies happening after Kong.

If they tease in KOTM18, it's more likely it shows up in GvsKK to give them a reason to team up against a big bad instead of having them go head to head in the main event. It's a cop-out to add a third monster but the inclusion of more Monsterverse movies.

[jellydonut25]

A.) POTENTIAL SPOILERS.

B.) Godzilla vs Kong IS Godzilla 3

[franzilla]

I am aware, but folks are acting like GvsKK is akin to Avengers not being Captain America or Thor 2. KnowwhatImean?

Still, the rights expire after GvsKK, right? I thought that was the idea so that Toho is able to go on producing their own movies without a dueling American franchise

[franzilla]

And it's been a while since I've been on these boards, so can anyone tell me what's up with those "spoiler" designations that showed up in my post? I just wanna be up on the rules and etiquette.

[Benjamin Haines]

At G-Fest 2017, Shinji Higuchi said that Legendary's Godzilla license currently goes as far as 2020, when Godzilla vs. Kong will open on Memorial Day weekend.

All of the clickbait articles speculating about a certain Toho kaiju being planned for future Monsterverse films are just that: pure speculation.

This speculation is partly rooted in conflicting reports about the post-credits scene for the upcoming Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Those reports appeared online after a working cut of the film was screened for test audiences multiple times in 2018 and the trailers seemed to confirm the authenticity of their plot descriptions. If you want to know about the conflicting post-credits scene reports, just hit this here button.....


Part of this speculation is also based on the fact that Godzilla: King of the Monsters will feature Godzilla
That, coupled with the rumors about the post-credits scene, is why the internet is prematurely partying like it's

[XvGojira]

[lhb412]

Higuchi's statements seem to mean that it wasn't simply that Toho couldn't release a film the same year that Legendary Pictures releases one, but rather that they couldn't make one while an American Godzilla film was even in production! If that's the case, there's no way there could be a concurrent Japanese and American series under the current plan (unless there was, like, four years between every film). Which is why, I simply think Toho would insist on a different plan if Legendary wants to continue - which is entirely dependent on how successful these next two movies are.

[Benjamin Haines]

[lhb412]

^ If that bears out and Toho would be a co-producer of further Hollywood Godzilla films, which, mind you - they would distribute and reap the profits from in their native Japan - it would be nice if some other smart Japanese studio could oh, I don't know, produce some authentic Japanese kaiju films starring another iconic kaiju!

[Benjamin Haines]

^ If there's one thing history has shown, from 1965 to 1995 to 2006, it's that the production of multiple Godzilla films will eventually bring about Gamera to ride those coattails.

[Gwangi]

Toho (like any other company) loves to see a lot of dollar bills, so if these last two movies (especially G vs. Kong), become mega box-office hits, I could see that scenario of Toho not wanting to kill this cash cow and re-negotiate with Legendary & Warner Brothers.

The problem then lies, how does one top a movie where you just pitted arguably the two greatest movie monsters of all time? I would love to see Legendary bring on Gamera to the Monsterverse, but would that bring in the big bucks? Toho would probably insist on one of their creations, such as Mechagodzilla. Yes, there will be some fans who would clamor to see the "Pacific Rim" universe incorporated into the Monsterverse. Or get Paramount's permission to bring in the Cloverfield monster. Who knows what will happen, but it should be interesting.

[lhb412]

^ It's not quite an answer to your question, but I do think one thing that could help the longevity of the MonsterVerse is to remember that it is a 'MonsterVerse' and not simply a string of Godzilla sequels. I'd love to see only every other film be a Godzilla movie. Kong and Mothra could very easily headline films of there own, and with this mythology they've set up of these creatures always being here on Earththey could conceivably do prequels setting any point in history.

[Jinzo Ningen]

How's this for a batshit crazy idea...

An update of War of the Gargantuas???? That's about as far off the chain as you could get and it's still one of Toho's best-remembered, most beloved oddball titles.

And besides... Russ Tamblyn's still alive & kickin' so sign him up!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Gwangi]

[angilas]

[Jinzo Ningen]

^WotG is actually a very good idea and, just as importantly, very do-able.... for several reasons:

It is a fairly well known pop-culture title, even among those who are not hardcore fans of kaiju eiga.

Not being 'Godzilla' or any of his main stable of co-stars, I would imagine that obtaining the rights to the film from Toho would be comparatively cheap.

As I mentioned, star Russ Tamblyn is still with us and doing limited acting appearances. He is a likely candidate to join the cast, and it would be a bigger draw for fans and 'insiders' of genre stuff. He's embarrassingly acknowledged and apologized for how 'phoned-in' his acting was in the original, so this would be an opportunity to make amends for his less than stellar work in the original -regardless of how big or small his part might be - and would further immortalize him in the sci-fi genre lexicon.

WotG co-star Kumi Mizuno is likewise still around. Why not fly her to the U.S., or fly Tamblyn to Japan? Have them co-star as Paul & Akemi Stewart, married and long since retired. Whether the remake would acknowledge the original film or not it would be an outstanding fan service moment... and relatively inexpensive, comparatively speaking.

Legendary & WB pride themselves on 'star' power in their casts for these MonsterVerse films. Brad Pitt is a self-professed WotG fan, so why not ask him to sign on? He'd probably get a real kick out of it, and it would give the film a bankable name for that all-important B.O. $$$ draw.

For a composer they need look no further than Mark Mothersbaugh. He's a well-established composer in his own right and is a gushing fanboy of the original; (the encounter between him & Tamblyn many years ago is a classic anecdote). As such, I would be inclined to think he'd jump at the opportunity to get to score a big budget remake of WotG... whether adapting Ifukube's score outright, only a few selected cues, or a completely original score of his own. Furthermore, his band DEVO did a cover of The Words Get Stuck in My Throat, so he could throw than into the soundtrack and we could torture yet another generation with that wonderfully awful song.

The total budget would be considerably lower than these more recent over-the-top CGI fests, because in addition to the cheap(er) rights acquisition costs, Legendary & WB should resist the temptation to overindulge in needless CGI and instead achieve the title creatures through practical make-up & prosthetics. Someone on the level of Rick Baker, Winston Studios, KNB or an equally prestigious F/X firm would be a perfect fit for revamped suits & make-ups for Sanda & Guira. Then, 2 stunt guys could just be turned loose in a huge soundstage filled with large rectangles of various sizes, everything painted green. Then the buildings & destruction debris could be CG'd in at a substantially cheaper cost (buildings would be much, much less expensive, I would imagine, than a pair of full-blown CG monsters).

The scale of the monsters could be kept far smaller than the current 300+ feet critters in the current roster of MonsterVerse beasties, making the action more intimate and the creatures a little more relatable.

They could make it full body horror driven film, like Cronenberg's Fly remake, or go the laugh & scream route, like American Werewolf in London or Tremors. It would work either way, although I would prefer something somewhere in between.

They could tie in the Frankenstein mythology as a throw back to FCtW... go the super-size Bigfoot route... play on stem cell therapy/genetic tampering gone awry... you name it.


The more I think about it, this would be a great fit for Legendary... with the potential to be a really wild & fun time at the movies and a big B.O. win in comparison the the initial capitol invested by the studios.

[Benjamin Haines]

[Gargantuan Gargantua]

I assume if King of the Monsters makes bank (like towards the $1 billion range) then they will probably immediately discuss an extension.

[Benjamin Haines]

A $1 billion+ global total would put KotM among the 40 biggest worldwide box office hits to date. G'14 topped out at $529m (currently #185 all-time worldwide) while Kong: Skull Island hit $566m (currently #162).

When WB's Aquaman crossed $1b worldwide, it was the first time since Paramount's Transformers: Age of Extinction in 2014 that a non-Disney, non-Universal release hit the $1b milestone. Maybe WB can pull it off again this year. I'd say King of the Monsters is a major wild card just by virtue of how unexpectedly huge Godzilla's $93m domestic opening weekend was in 2014. There was a lot of pent-up audience demand for a modern take on the Big G and the most frequent complaint among the mixed responses was that the movie needed more of Godzilla. If KotM delivers in that regard and audiences give it a shot, there's no telling how high it might go. Still, as long as the production budget isn't bigger than Skull Island's $180m, another $500m+ global total would be perfectly fine for KotM and keep the Monsterverse steadily profitable.

I wouldn't be surprised if KotM ended up around $650m worldwide, in the same ballpark as Justice League and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. If it's a real crowdpleaser then I wouldn't be too surprised if it hit $700m. I would be progressively more surprised if it topped $800m, $900m or more.

[mr.negativity]

[TerranigmaFreak]

Toho likes money. All we need is for these movies to make a ton of money then.

[lhb412]

[mr.negativity]

[mr.negativity]