Although a King Kong vs Godzilla remake is still far down the road, if a King Kong vs Godzilla remake ever does get released this movie would gather worldwide attention from this side of the Atlantic to our friends in the Pacific. The truth is that monster movie fans have been drooling for a King Kong vs Godzilla remake ever since Universal Pictures and Peter Jackson remade the big ape’s movie with updated special effects and a big budget. Indeed, Jackson’s vision introduced the giant simian to an entire new generation of fans, who are now open to seeing a King Kong vs Godzilla remake.
Meanwhile, Toho Production in Japan had already made their giant radioactive dinosaur a cultural icon in Japan with dozens of movies, cartoons, and toys. Japanese movie goers have been ready for a King Kong vs Godzilla remake since the original was released in 1963. The closest time that a King Kong vs Godzilla remake seemed to become a reality occurred in 1992, however Toho lawyers stressed caution regarding copyrights, licenses, and even using a monster that looked the monster ape that had climbed the Empire State Building. (Toho had a robotic version, but it was deemed to be too similar to Universal’s giant ape). This killed talk of a King Kong vs Godzilla remake for years.
Although Toho has produced around 30 giant monster movies (called Daikaiju in Japanese) in the East, Western fans do not really consider men in rubber costumes to be a serious form of theater, and there has not been talk of a King Kong vs Godzilla remake until recently. That is why Toho movies have a cult following in the U.S. – they are simply not mainstream enough for American audiences, which is another obstacle for a King Kong vs Godzilla remake. In 1998, TriStar pictures released a CGI version of the famous monster, and although it was a commercial success fans of the rubber costumed version had issues with the character. So the big question is: would a King Kong vs Godzilla remake have CGI versions of both monsters?
Toho Productions has long held and respected the tradition of using costumes for their actors while camera crews film the characters fighting over miniaturized versions of cities and landscapes. Would American audiences accept this for a King Kong vs Godzilla remake? Probably not- the King Kong vs Godzilla remake would bomb with men in costumes. Americans speaks with the wallet, and the 1998 version of the dinosaur made hundreds of millions due to the marketing campaign and CGI. The big gorilla’s remade 2005 movie had the same treatment (the original 1933 film used stop motion models).
It comes down to three options for a King Kong vs Godzilla remake:
1) Both monsters in costume – this would be comical and not a money making King Kong vs Godzilla remake .
2) Advanced stop motion technique – a compromise
3) CGI monsters – the only chance a King Kong vs Godzilla remake has of being a blockbuster.
