Should Toho re-visit older continuities?

[Tyrant_Lizard_King]

A cartoon based on the Showa series would be great. They could even adapt the Heisei and Millennium kaiju to fit the Showa sensibilities.

[Gojira1604]

I'd like post Destroy All Monsters or post Terror of Mechagodzilla series in the Showa continuity. I theorize that the Godzilla we see in Dam is Minya from Sog and VsGigan grown up. I believe the 2nd Godzilla(55-75) died at some point, i'd like to see that and how it occurred. I'd also like a Final Wars sequel, seeing Ozaki as the leader of a new generation of humanity, with his newfound powers, them reconstructing the world, and with Godzilla as their ally.

[Maritonic]

Always forward, never back in my opinion.
Plus continuity has never been terribly important to this franchise so I don't see much of a point. Though, maybe in other mediums; video games, manga, novels, etc it would be interesting. But for films? Eh.

[szmigiel]

Continuity and canon is for fan fiction.

[Zarm]

...The actual concepts? They're kind of crucial parts of any ongoing series, and by their nature, canon can only involve officially created products.

I mean, if somebody gets married and in the next movie, they're wearing a wedding ring, that's continuity. That's not really a fanfiction thing, that's just a basic part of keeping consistency between the multiple entries in a series.

[szmigiel]

...The actual concepts? They're kind of crucial parts of any ongoing series, and by their nature, canon can only involve officially created products.

I mean, if somebody gets married and in the next movie, they're wearing a wedding ring, that's continuity. That's not really a fanfiction thing, that's just a basic part of keeping consistency between the multiple entries in a series.

They have never been crucial parts of the Godzilla films because they are never taken seriously. Writers may take bits a pieces from previous films, but only what they want and toss the rest in the trash. Even films that can be called direct sequels have huge plot elements missing from one to the other, or create serious plot holes.

Toho looks at the kaiju as actors they pick and choose to reappear in films, and like actors they use them because they are popular, or because they are easy to reuse. Toho is not interested in weaving a complex mythology and world.

Take Miki as a example between two movies GVSG and GVD. One her powers were getting stronger and she was able to lift the table she was strapped to. At the end it Miki is looking like she is starting a relationship. Next movie nope, no mention of the relationship and her powers are fading because she is getting older.

[Gerdzerl]

I always assumed that, in-universe, little-to-nobody talked about the events of the previous films because the characters either felt that those events weren't really relevant to what was going on in the moment/they didn't feel like mentioning them, they forgot about what happened, or just weren't aware of what happened.

I mean, I don't know about y'all, but it seems really silly to me to suggest that, unless the characters are constantly mentioning or acknowledging what happened before, those previous events didn't happen.

Take Miki as a example between two movies GVSG and GVD. One her powers were getting stronger and she was able to lift the table she was strapped to. At the end it Miki is looking like she is starting a relationship. Next movie nope, no mention of the relationship and her powers are fading because she is getting older.

Who's to say her relationship didn't end in-between those two films or that she was still in a relationship but we didn't see anything of it? There's so many potential factors that could be going on in-universe that we might not know about. A film can't possibly account for every single little thing that ever occured in that series. That's why things like the Star Wars Expanded Universe exist.

[Ivo-goji]

They have never been crucial parts of the Godzilla films because they are never taken seriously. Writers may take bits a pieces from previous films, but only what they want and toss the rest in the trash.

Yeah, no, that's transparently untrue. I have a hard time thinking even you believe that.

The points you try to raise about Miki just draws attention to how blatantly false and indefensible your interpretation is.

[eabaker]

Take Miki as a example between two movies GVSG and GVD. One her powers were getting stronger and she was able to lift the table she was strapped to. At the end it Miki is looking like she is starting a relationship. Next movie nope, no mention of the relationship and her powers are fading because she is getting older.

Who's to say her relationship didn't end in-between those two films or that she was still in a relationship but we didn't see anything of it? There's so many potential factors that could be going on in-universe that we might not know about. A film can't possibly account for every single little thing that ever occured in that series. That's why things like the Star Wars Expanded Universe exist.

The point isn't that these things are totally incompatible; the point is that they weren't deemed important enough by the filmmakers to merit explanation. In these instances, continuity was irrelevant to the movie.

[szmigiel]

Yeah, no, that's transparently untrue. I have a hard time thinking even you believe that.

The points you try to raise about Miki just draws attention to how blatantly false and indefensible your interpretation is.

Okay just brush everything aside as false or untrue.

Godzilla continuity and canon is about a contestant as the James Bond franchise, or even the Ray Harryhausen Sinbad movies. They are not attempting to build a history, they are only concerned with making the next film. If it borrows anything thing from the films before it, it is secondary, they never really think, how will this film impact the next one. They will overlook anything that is inconvenient, despite Godzilla and other Kaiju rampaging in Japan every year in the Heisei series, Japanese economy never seems to be effected. Other then GVB we never see Japan rebuilding from the last rampage or fight.

Fans are the ones that like to make theories and try their best to connect each film as a rich mythology. Toho and most of the writers and directors don't care if they are making a continuity, there is no canon other then the very basics of Godzilla. Kaiju origins will change to fit whatever is needed, King Ghidorah a space dragon? not anymore. Toho sees the Kaiju as merchandise to be licensed out to make further money from. They are not really concerned with creating or maintaining any kind of rich mythology between movies.

Maybe, if we are lucky, the next person to be put in charge of the franchise will treat continuity as more then just passing thought. Maybe raise the bar more seeing what the Marvel and Star Wars franchise have done. But I highly doubt that continuity and canon will be little more then an afterthought.

[eabaker]

Maybe, if we are lucky, the next person to be put in charge of the franchise will treat continuity as more then just passing thought. Maybe raise the bar more seeing what the Marvel and Star Wars franchise have done. But I highly doubt that continuity and canon will be little more then an afterthought.

I don't think Godzilla, as a character/concept, would be particularly well-served by that approach, though. I wouldn't see it as "raising the bar" so much as "shoving a square peg into a round hole."

[szmigiel]

I don't think Godzilla, as a character/concept, would be particularly well-served by that approach, though. I wouldn't see it as "raising the bar" so much as "shoving a square peg into a round hole."

I would be happy with about the same level as the Heisei Gamera films.

[Zarm]

I think that's the function the Monsterverse and Anime universes will fill; I suspect Toho may be better served by their anthology approach for now.

[eabaker]

I don't think Godzilla, as a character/concept, would be particularly well-served by that approach, though. I wouldn't see it as "raising the bar" so much as "shoving a square peg into a round hole."

I would be happy with about the same level as the Heisei Gamera films.

I would be totally into that for something with about the same duration (a trilogy), but I wouldn't want it to run much longer than that.

[LockBite]

I think it would be cool as hell to revisit the Showa era, complete with a retro-future version of our present day. The monsters are stuck on Monster Island, something happens, yada yada. It’d be a great tribute and cheap to make with intentionally-dated effects.