Godzilla vs. Hedorah 2

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Godzilla vs. Hedorah 2
"And Yet Another One?" post-credits scene from Godzilla vs. Hedorah, hinting at the unmade sequel
Planned 1974
Intended release 1975
Concept history Godzilla vs. GeziraGodzilla vs. Hedorah 2Terror of Mechagodzilla (screenplay drafts)Terror of Mechagodzilla

Godzilla vs. Hedorah 2 (ゴジラ対ヘドラ2,   Gojira tai Hedora Tsū) is an unrealized early concept for the 15th Godzilla film. After producer Tomoyuki Tanaka selected Godzilla vs. Hedorah director Yoshimitsu Banno to direct this film, Banno considered a story pitting Godzilla against a giant mutant starfish named Gezira before ultimately settling on a direct sequel to his previous entry in the series in which Godzilla battles a second Hedorah in Africa. The idea was abandoned altogether when Ishiro Honda replaced Banno as director, ultimately directing Terror of Mechagodzilla.

Plot

Godzilla battles a second Hedorah in Africa.

History

After producer Tomoyuki Tanaka decided that Yoshimitsu Banno's Godzilla vs. Gezira idea would be too expensive, the director proposed a direct sequel to Godzilla vs. Hedorah. The ending of his film had already set up the return of Hedorah, with the shooting script even calling for text that read "Godzilla vs. Hedorah Part 1: The End."[1] A 1972 trip to Mauritania inspired Banno to move the setting to Africa, as well as the documentary Africa Addio.[1] "If those chaotic, dynamic countries developed a little further," he reasoned, "it wouldn't be implausible for Hedorah to show up there."[1] Ultimately, Ishiro Honda returned to the Godzilla series for the final time and replaced Banno as director on the 15th entry of the franchise. Yukiko Takayama wrote the story for this film, which became Terror of Mechagodzilla, the final entry in the Showa series. Hedorah would not return in another film until Godzilla Final Wars in 2004.

Despite this project's fate, Banno would continue to try decades later to direct a sequel or spiritual successor to Godzilla vs. Hedorah, even securing permission from Toho to produce and direct Godzilla 3-D. Although this film never materialized, its search for funding led to the negotiations between Toho and Legendary Pictures that resulted in the latter studio's 2014 film Godzilla and the start of the Monsterverse franchise. Banno himself was credited as an executive producer on Godzilla, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and Godzilla vs. Kong, with the latter two credits being posthumous. Banno also announced a project titled Hedorah vs. Midora prior to his death, which would have seen Hedorah battling a benevolent counterpart named Midora.

Trivia

  • In 2020, Raffael Coronelli adapted Godzilla vs. Hedorah 2 for the second episode of the fan audio drama series Godzilla Unmade.[2]

References

This is a list of references for Godzilla vs. Hedorah 2. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 LeMay, John (27 November 2019). The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: The Lost Films: Mutated Edition. Bicep Books. pp. 148–150. ISBN 978-1701683945.
  2. Godzilla Unmade #2: Godzilla vs. Hedorah II

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Unmade
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Movie
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