Director Quentin Tarantino once laid his plan out for an interesting take on the Godzilla vs. Kong. While Toho Studios’ original Godzilla was founded on the very real trauma experienced by Japan and its people, the franchise quickly became a showcase for fantastical monster-brawls, with the titular character becoming more outwardly heroic as the series went on, despite the destruction that is often left in his wake.
No stranger to World cinema, King of the Monsters”.
Tarantino’s Godzilla would likely have utilized the Toho-era mythology, given his predilection for the movies of his youth, and was set to explore the ramifications of Godzilla as Japan’s sometimes-savior. “The whole idea of Godzilla's role in Tokyo,” Tarantino said, “where he's always battling these other monsters, saving humanity time and again - wouldn't Godzilla become God? It would be called ‘Living Under The Rule Of Godzilla’. This is what society is like when a big f--ing green lizard rules your world” (via GR). While Tarantino’s vision for the franchise was likely just a fan web-spinning ideas, the notion of the acclaimed writer/director tackling such material certainly lends food for thought.
The Godzilla movies are often criticized for containing fairly bland human-led storylines, with fans having to sit through countless expository scenes before getting to what they consider to be, the good stuff: monsters fighting other monsters. As far as Tarantino’s films are concerned, the characters and dialogue are where it’s at; something that could definitely benefit future entries in the Godzilla series. Additionally, Tarantino often utilizes the same actors in multiple projects, so it would be fun to see some of his Battle Royale star Chiaki Kuriyama. The US release of the original Godzilla contained additional scenes with actor Raymond Burr as an American reporter; something that Tarantino could also pay tribute to by casting fellow Toho-fan (and Academy Award winner) Brad Pitt in a similar role.
As for the “green lizard” himself, Tarantino would undoubtedly go down the practical route, typical of his old-school filmmaking approach, with a performer in a Godzilla costume tearing through a miniaturized Tokyo, complete with crumbling pagodas and match-box cars whizzing through crowded streets. While it’s unlikely that Tarantino’s Godzilla was ever a serious consideration, the recent success of Godzilla vs. Kong has hopefully ensured the MonsterVerse’s future - at least for one more entry (rumored to be titled Son of Kong) - and the filmmakers could do a lot worse than take a leaf out of Tarantino’s book; at least, as far as his approach to dialogue is concerned...
