It's not much to go on, but we may have our very first glimpse of what Godzilla will look like in the upcoming reboot. Despite the relative failure of Roland Emmerich's 1998 Godzilla, there's a lot of money to be made off the monster movie franchise. Sure enough, Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. will try their hand at breaking off a piece of that Kit Kat bar with a recently announced Godzilla flick in development for a 2012 release.
Twitch discovered an image on Flickr of a bust accompanied by the following: "I was told by a good friend in the movie biz that this was one of the designs they were considering for the new 3D Godzilla!" The design is interesting (very angular), and I could see that face being very scary when embiggened on screen. It's still completely unconfirmed that this model has anything to with the project, but feel free to check out the full image for yourself after the jump. [UPDATE: Bloody-Digusting says this is NOT from the Godzilla remake.]
In case you missed it the first time around, here's the official press release:
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*LEGENDARY PICTURES TO DEVELOP AND PRODUCE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE BASED ON TOHO COMPANY’S ICONIC MONSTER, GODZILLA*
Burbank, CA – March 29, 2010 – Legendary Pictures announced today that they will develop and produce a new film based on Toho Company’s famed GODZILLA character. Through the terms of the agreement, Legendary Pictures has acquired the rights to produce a movie inspired by Toho’s Godzilla, a franchise the Japanese company created and has nurtured for over fifty years.
Toho’s GODZILLA franchise boasts one of the most widely recognized film creatures worldwide, resulting in a series of books, television programs, video games and more than 25 films worldwide. Legendary intends to approach the film and its characters in the most authentic manner possible. The company will, in the near future, announce a filmmaker to helm the film for an intended 2012 release. The film will fall under the company’s co-production and co-financing deal with Warner Bros. Toho will distribute the film in Japan.
“Godzilla is one of the world’s most powerful pop culture icons, and we at Legendary are thrilled to be able to create a modern epic based on this long-loved Toho franchise,” said Thomas Tull, Chairman and CEO of Legendary. “Our plans are to produce the Godzilla that we, as fans, would want to see. We intend to do justice to those essential elements that have allowed this character to remain as pop-culturally relevant for as long as it has.”
“Godzilla is a signature Japanese character which we have nurtured over the years. It is a great honor to reach an agreement with Legendary Pictures, the parent to many a blockbuster film, and we are delighted in rebooting the character together to realize its much anticipated return by fans from all over the world,” comments Hideyuki Takai, President of Toho Co., Ltd. “We are anxious to find out where Godzilla’s new stomping will take us.”
“Godzilla is emblematic of the kind of branded, event films for which Warner Bros. and our partners at Legendary are best known. We have enjoyed a great deal of success together to date and this newest opportunity represents yet another chance for us to collaborate on a property that is very clearly in their wheelhouse,” said Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group.
In addition to Legendary, producers on the new film will be Dan Lin, Roy Lee and Brian Rogers. Yoshimitsu Banno, Kenji Okuhira and Doug Davison will Executive Produce.
*About Legendary Pictures *
Founded in 2004, Legendary Pictures owns, produces and delivers, on a global basis, some of the world’s most popular intellectual property to the powerful fandom psychographic as well as broader audiences. With partner Warner Bros., Legendary Pictures’ productions include such global blockbusters as The Dark Knight ($1 billion worldwide), ‘300′ ($456 million worldwide) and The Hangover ($467 million worldwide). The company has established itself as a trusted brand which consistently delivers high-quality, commercial entertainment. Among the projects that Legendary is currently developing is an adaptation of the phenomenally successful interactive game universe Warcraft; to be directed by Sam Raimi (Spiderman). Through complete or joint ownership, Legendary is building a library of marquee entertainment properties.
*About Toho Company, Ltd.*
Founded in 1932 and headquartered in Tokyo, Toho Company, Ltd. is one of the leading entertainment conglomerates in Japan. Toho is best known worldwide as the producer of twenty-eight Godzilla motion pictures, based upon a character the company unleashed on the world back in 1954, and masterpiece films directed by Akira Kurosawa. Toho has been the number one distributor of motion pictures in Japan (both domestic and foreign) for seven consecutive years since 2003. The company is also, throughout Japan, the leading producer of theatrical works and one of the largest owners of office buildings and theaters.
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