Yamatai Kingdom was first announced in 1976 and planned by Toho in order to further explore the continuity of The Three Treasures (1959). The story would have followed an envoy from the kingdom of Wei and his daughter as they become wrapped up in a growing war between Wei, Wu, Yamatai, and even the Roman Empire. Much like how The Three Treasures utilized a giant monster in the form of the eight-headed serpent Orochi, Yamatai Kingdom would have been the debut appearance of producer Tomoyuki Tanaka's transforming monster Bakan.
Based on an original draft by Sakyo Komatsu and Artisune Toyota, the first manuscript was completed in 1977 and proceeded to undergo additional revisions, with a fourth and final manuscript being completed and submitted in 1978. Producers included Tomoyuki Tanaka, Fumio Tanaka and Osamu Tanaka, with a screenplay by Kei Tasaka and additional research by Takehiko Furuta. Kihachi Okamoto was scheduled to direct the film, his name appearing in various advertisements from 1978. Despite the final proposal being lauded as a "masterpiece" by Fumio Tanaka, the project went unrealized as a proper budget could not be agreed upon. Though production on the movie fell through, Bakan - also known as Bagan - would resurface in 1980 as the shapeshifting rival to Godzilla in Resurrection of Godzilla (Tanaka Proposal).
Surprisingly, the concept for Yamatai Kingdom would be revisited beginning in March of 1990. The project would undergo several names changes, being referred to as The Secret of Queen Himiko: Yamatai Kingdom and the more stylized Yamatai Kingdom ~The Secret of Queen Himiko~ for scripts submitted in March and May of 1991. Nothing would come of these drafts, however. |