W
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A monster tentatively named "W" was planned for an unmade 1972 Gamera film entitled Gamera vs. the Two-Headed Monster W (ガメラ対双頭怪獣W Gamera tai Sōtō Kaijū Daburyū).
Development
Gamera vs. the Two-Headed Monster W was announced as the next entry in the Gamera series following Gamera vs. Zigra.[1] The tentatively-named W was designed by Akira Inoue, with clear resemblances to the Godzilla series villain King Ghidorah. Production details mentioned in the "Remember the Gamera Series" featurette indicate this was intentional, as King Ghidorah was on Noriaki Yuasa's mind while working on Zigra.[2] According to Yuasa, as translated by Yoshihiko Shibata, a "costume" had been created for the monster despite no script ever being completed.[3] It is possible that this prop was destroyed amidst a labor riot following Daiei's bankruptcy in 1972, as Yuasa recalled that "all the monster props" at the studio were destroyed with hammers.[4]
It is a common misconception among fans that Gamera vs. the Two-Headed Monster W was either the same project as Gamera vs. Garasharp, or replaced by it prior to Daiei's bankruptcy. However, this is not true, as Garasharp was created specifically for the Gamera Permanent Preservation Plan LaserDisc set, which came out in 1991.[2] Gamera vs. Garasharp would serve as a fulfillment of Inoue's involvement with a new Gamera story, though, as he was responsible for contributing illustrations and kaiju designs to the project.
Design
W's body is long and snake-like with two necks, large tattered wings and short arms. Its heads have sharp beaks, with one appearing to have spikes around its cheeks and running down its neck, and the other having a dragon-like mane. W's body seems to be covered in scales, and its underside resembles an annelid's segmented body. Concept art depicts W as being at least two times Gamera's height and roughly tripling his height in total length.
History
Gamera vs. the Two-Headed Monster W
Little is known of W or what role it would have played in the story, though concept art shows it fighting Gamera amidst what appear to be walls of flame.
Books
- Be Strong! Gamera (1995)
Be Strong! Gamera
In an original story scenario, W was a bioweapon engineered jointly by the Virians and Zigrans on Terra, incorporating combat data against Gamera.[5]
Abilities
Mouth projectiles
Concept art of W appears to show it breathing flames from its proper right head and a freeze ray from its proper left. It later demonstrated this ability in Be Strong! Gamera. Also in this book, W possessed a Cell Activity Suspension Beam (細胞活動停止光線 Saibō Katsudō Teishi Kōsen) not unlike Zigra's which it could fire from either of its foreheads. However, this beam proved ineffective against the giant whale God Gein due to its sheer size.[5]
Gallery
Concept art for the film showing Gamera fighting W
Trivia
- A dual-headed monster named Doublius, likely based on W, appeared in the 1994 manga series Gamera the Giant Monster.
- As part of April Fools' Day in 2021, the official Gamera Twitter claimed that a script for Gamera vs. the Two-Headed Monster W had been discovered.[1]
References
This is a list of references for W. 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]
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