Godzilla Can Never Break These Movie Rules, Says Toho Exec

Originally posted on Men's Journal | By Griff Griffin | Last updated Jun 20, 2024 4:00 PM ET

Godzilla may be a chaotic force of nature, but even it has rules.

These rules come from the Godzilla Room, a group formed by Godzilla license-holders Toho to oversee the character and ensure consistency in its portrayal.

"Some of the big rules are that Godzilla never dies and that Godzilla does not prey on people or things," Godzilla Room director Tetsuya Yoshikawthe tells Livedoor.

Toho

Toho established the Godzilla Room in 2016, following the release of Shin Godzilla. Its main aim is safeguarding the Godzilla brand and making sure it stays untarnished. For that, the Godzilla Room re-watched the entirety of Godzilla’s back catalog, studied them, and wrote up a set of unbreakable commandments.

These rules applied to both Godzilla Minus One and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. "We checked these things from the script stage for Godzilla Minus One as well,” says Yoshikawthe. “The same goes for the Hollywood version. Managing the film by clarifying agreements and principles, rather than just going by intuition, also leads to the credibility of the film."

As the Godzilla x Kong sequel gets a new director, you best believe he’ll be doing his reading up on the monster’s instruction manual.

It’s not just films, but merchandise too. Even Godzilla's recent team up with McDonalds was governed by the Godzilla Room’s rules. It’s good to know despite the creature’s outwardly hostile appearance, it’s actually quite disciplined.

This article first appeared on Men's Journal and was syndicated with permission.

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