Movies
‘Godzilla: Final Wars’ Almost Featured a Mechagodzilla Redesign by ‘Metal Gear Solid’ Artist Yoji Shinkawa
With Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire squashing the box office and Godzilla Minus One earning that coveted first Academy Award for the series, talk of Godzilla is obviously high. As such, Godzilla: Final Wars director Ryuhei Kitamura recently revealed that the film was close to getting a Mechagodzilla redesign by none other than Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding artist Yoji Shinkawa.
In an interview with Kaiju United on the 20th anniversary of Godzilla: Final Wars, Kitamura–who was enlisted by Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima to direct the cut scenes in the Gamecube-exclusive Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes–revealed how he had gotten Shinkawa for Godzilla: Final Wars.
“When I worked on Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, I asked nicely to Kojima-san, can I borrow your genius designer? He asked, what are you going to do? And I said I’m going to do final Godzilla! He was like, wow, go ahead. Mr. Shinkawa designed all the cool earth defense force and mutant squad costumes, and the battleship Gotengo. So yes, there’s a lot of connection between Metal Gear Solid and Final Wars, because I did it back-to-back.”
When asked by the interviewer if there were any kaiju for Final Wars that didn’t make the cut, Shinkawa mentioned Mechagodzilla. “If they didn’t do the Mechagodzilla movies right before me, I would have brought him back, because it’s so cool. Imagine the Metal Gear Solid designer Yoji Shinkawa redesigned Mechagodzilla!”
As for why Shinkawa didn’t do a redesign, Kitamura said it came down to respecting the character. “I wanted to do it, but I didn’t want to disrespect.”
Given Shinkawa’s designs of the Metal Gear mecha over the years (not to mention his designs of mecha in Zone of the Enders), it definitely would have been interesting to see how he would have tackled Mechagodzilla.
Thanks to Time Extension for spotting this!
NEON has been absolutely slaying the marketing game for their horror output this year, and they’re kicking the Longlegs campaign into high gear with one more month until release.
A cryptic ad in The Seattle Times today (seen below) has led clever horror fans to discover TheBirthdayMurders.net, the brand new official viral marketing website for Longlegs.
The in-universe website details the victims of the serial killer known as Longlegs (Nicolas Cage), described as a “Satan-worshipping psycho” who has terrorized families throughout the Pacific Northwest for nearly three decades.
The website details, “A bloody trail of bodies here in the great state of Oregon attests to the depraved savagery of this one-of-a-kind serial killer. With over three dozen victims that we know of, LONGLEGS is one of the most prolific mass murderers ever to have graced the region, and his gruesome endeavors are the stuff of nightmares. At first, all of the killings appeared to be straightforward murder-suicides: the handiwork of average men who suddenly snapped and slaughtered their wives and children. But a series of eerie coded messages left at the crime scenes indicate that someone – or something – is influencing these horrific crimes. The cryptic letters are signed by someone calling himself LONGLEGS.”
“With thirty-eight kills to his name, LONGLEGS has torn apart the lives of eleven different families throughout the Beaver State. His victims were good people: honest fathers, decent mothers, innocent little children.”
The website is loaded with secrets, clues, and gruesome (faux) crime scene photos, and you might even find a mention of yours truly nestled in there. Poke around. Stay a while.
Longlegs arrives in theaters July 12.
The upcoming serial killer horror movie marks the return of director Osgood Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter, Gretel & Hansel). Nicolas Cage stars alongside Maika Monroe, with Monroe playing an FBI agent and Cage playing a serial killer.
In the film, “FBI Agent Lee Harker (Monroe) is a gifted new recruit assigned to the unsolved case of an elusive serial killer (Cage). As the case takes complex turns, unearthing evidence of the occult, Harker discovers a personal connection to the merciless killer and must race against time to stop him before he claims the lives of another innocent family.
The film is rated “R” for “Bloody violence, disturbing images and some language.”
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