Following up on a report from Bloody Disgusting in August of '09, Variety has learned that Legendary Pictures has secured the rights to Toho Co.'s Godzilla, and hopes to return the iconic giant lizard to the big screen at some point in 2012.
For those of you dreading another Emmerich-level betrayal of the character, Legendary honcho Thomas Tull is saying all the right things. "Our plans," he tells Variety, "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 the character to remain as pop-culturally relevant for as long as it has."
There are no creatives attached to the project yet (that we know of), so who knows what this new American Godzilla will look like. My guess is that it will a) be another CG monster, b) take place in one of America's fine coastal cities (I vote for Hilton Head), and c) Maria Pitillo will be nowhere in sight. However, given that we've nothing to go on but Tull's vaguely encouraging statements, I reserve the right to be spectacularly wrong on all counts.
The Toho Godzilla has been MIA since 2004'S GODZILLA: FINAL WARS, so, if nothing else, it's good to know the big fella's coming back.
Warner Bros. will distribute.
