Mutant Starfish
Template:Kaiju Infobox Unmade The Mutant Starfish is an unused Template:Kaiju from the unmade 1972 Godzilla film, Godzilla vs. the Mutant Starfish.
Appearance
Nothing is known of the creature's appearance, outside the fact that it would have been a gigantic mutated starfish.
History
Following the release of Godzilla vs. Hedorah in 1971, director Yoshimitsu Banno planned a direct follow up to his film. This time, Banno envisioned Godzilla's opponent as a giant mutated starfish, created either through polluted waters similar to Hedorah or from radiation emitted from a fallen meteorite. However, Banno discarded the idea in favor of a direct sequel to Godzilla vs. Hedorah pitting Godzilla against a second Hedorah in Africa.
The Mutant Starfish was later revealed to western readers through a published interview with Banno featured in the 2001 book TokyoScope: The Japanese Cult Film Companion by Patrick Macias, with collaborators 'Happy' Ujihashi, Kinji Fukasaku and Takashi Miike.
Trivia
- The mutant starfish never received an official finalized name, but various American fans and Godzilla-related websites have given the creature the unofficial moniker of "Hitodah," which is a play on the Japanese phrase for starfish, "Hitode." It should be noted that this is not the Mutant Starfish's actual name despite its heavy usage online.
- Although not gigantic monsters themselves, the Barem, toxic starfishes spawned by and in the service to the larger sea monster Dagahra from the 1997 film Rebirth of Mothra II, share some similarities with the Mutant Starfish.
- While Godzilla has yet to battle an echinoderm-based Template:Kaiju, a gigantic yet immobile starfish does make a brief appearance in The Godzilla Power Hour episode The Macro-Beasts.
External Links
- Godzilla vs. Hedorah on Wikipedia
- A passage from the book TokyoScope: The Japanese Cult Film Companion mentioning the Mutant Starfish
- GODZILLA VS. MUTANT STARFISH (early 70's) - angelfire.com
- Hitodah - Cutting Room - Toho Kingdom
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