Which of the Toho Big 4 do you think is most ready for a solo film?

[Dinoskell]

As always I'm convinced a sci-fi fantasy movie about King Ghidorah attacking an alien world has lots of potential.

[Thatguy4683]

I picked Rodan. Outside of the Monsterverse his handling has been quite terrible lately, and a film that builds up him back up as one "one of the greats" could be immensely satisfying for a fanboy like me. Mothra's had a whole trilogy already, and King Ghidorah/Mechagodzilla without Godzilla himself feels pointless to me. I think Joker comparisons are poorly thought out - Does anyone actually *want* a kaiju film that has as little to do with the source material as Joker 2019 did?

BUT if I could get a solo movie for any Toho kaiju, I'd say my pick would be Anguirus. One of the best kaiju Toho has ever made, that's been barely used since the 70's ended. Although I would want a solo movie to tie into a Godzilla continuity.

I completely agree, after the event of Invasion of Astro-Monster he been nothing but a side or background character ever since

[edgaguirus]

It would be nice to see him in the spot flight again.

[Dinoskell]

I picked Rodan. Outside of the Monsterverse his handling has been quite terrible lately, and a film that builds up him back up as one "one of the greats" could be immensely satisfying for a fanboy like me. Mothra's had a whole trilogy already, and King Ghidorah/Mechagodzilla without Godzilla himself feels pointless to me. I think Joker comparisons are poorly thought out - Does anyone actually *want* a kaiju film that has as little to do with the source material as Joker 2019 did?

BUT if I could get a solo movie for any Toho kaiju, I'd say my pick would be Anguirus. One of the best kaiju Toho has ever made, that's been barely used since the 70's ended. Although I would want a solo movie to tie into a Godzilla continuity.

I completely agree, after the event of Invasion of Astro-Monster he been nothing but a side or background character ever since

I do remember a very interesting fanfic trilogy that started as Megaguirus vs Rodan mated pair, then the surviving female Rodan ended up avoiding humans if she could help it from then on since she since associated their guns and buildings with the loss of her mate. so was more or less no longer a threat. But ended up tangling with monsters for own reasons. I think Rodan could carry a series in film in a similar way.

[Gigantis]

Reviving this thread in the wake of Godzilla Minus One!

I think seeing the brief snippets of -1.0 made me excited at the prospect of seeing the Big 4 in a live-action Japanese production again. None of them have come back in that format since the Millennium era concluded, and everything else has been done in America with KOTM and Godzilla vs. Kong, or animated. And with MinusGoji also having a design recalling previous ones and a plot that seemingly calls back to his debut, I imagine any other appearances by the rest of the gang will give them similar treatment.

If Minus One takes off at the box office, I definitely think all of them will return, albeit probably not in any sequels to that movie and another continuity reboot. That said, I think Mothra is definitely the one most likely to get a solo production, since she's had her fill of that before.. Or at least, her child. That said, I don't know if a Rodan or Ghidorah solo are THAT unlikely. Toho knows they sell, the latter was proposed to get one back in 1998 until it was retooled into ROM3, and also have some potential story wise, again, potentially re-tweaking their debuts for modern day; though I'd personally say a new Rodan solo would most likely have him fight some other monster while Ghidorah would stay by himself.

And Mechagodzilla.. Um, yeah I don't think a live-action solo is too likely for him. Maybe in an anime format though? Stuff like Gundam and Evangelion ARE still popular in Japan, so maybe toho can use MG as a way to fully bounce into the mecha genre.

[MechaGoji Bro7503]

Rodan. Rodan. Rodan. Rodan. Rodan. Rodan. Rodan.

I hope Minus One has this real dramatic scene with Godziller.....then as the music stops Rodan appears and drops a jurassic dump on his head. Oh Tohoooo, how about 2026 is Rodan's year? No, how about you make it his year, yeah? Thank you. But really, I'd love to see a Rodan solo film as much as Mothra. I'm also surprised at Mothra's lack of real presence in this new era.

Honestly a Mechagodzilla game would be a lot of fun with so much potential, especially if they take the Kiryu route with him. Or maybe the player is just a proper space ape death machine wrecking havoc. So much to do here, from customization to abilities.

[Legion1979]

I don't think solo films with other monsters is really where Toho's head is at right now, guys.

[MechaGoji Bro7503]

Then give me a Better Call Saul show but with Rodan

[miguelnuva]

Mothra: Mothra is number 2 in Toho land so I can see her getting another film. A solo film could do a lot with Mothra in today's world.

Rodan: Rodan would be flying Godzilla but with today's advances it could be Top Gun meets Godzilla and have a lot of potential.

Ghidorah: Ghidorah is a fiilm I would personally not want on Earth. I would have human like Aliens and the film ends with Ghidorah destroying all life. This is a solo film but I personally wouldn't mind if the alien world had 2 or 3 kaiju that Ghidorah kills as he destroys the planet. Gives Toho some more kaiju and lets us see why he's King Ghidorah.

MechaGodzilla: I can't see a solo film for him at all. I can see something like where Kiryu had to defeat Japan against other Monsters not involving Godzilla however.

Depending on if there Solo or not I can see MechaG slingghtting to the top or being at the bottom. If they are origin/adventure films I can see Ghidorah and even MechaG jumping to the top.

Added in 44 seconds:

Then give me a Better Call Saul show but with Rodan

I still want the spin off of Rodan living with the Conners from Rosanne.

Added in 54 seconds:

I don't think solo films with other monsters is really where Toho's head is at right now, guys.

I don't know. Someone made a good case today in a video I watched that maybe Toho is doing minus to go back to the basics with their kaiju if Minus does well.

[SpiderZilla]

A solo MechaGodzilla featuring the Heisei or Millennium version wouldn’t work without a kaiju opponent but I think a Showa MG attacking the Earth (as the first stage of an alien invasion) without any kaiju to defend it could make for an interesting plot.

[miguelnuva]

A solo MechaGodzilla featuring the Heisei or Millennium version wouldn’t work without a kaiju opponent but I think a Showa MG attacking the Earth (as the first stage of an alien invasion) without any kaiju to defend it could make for an interesting plot.

A showa Mechagodzilla solo would feel like the current SSu without Spiderman. I'd be where is Godzilla the entire time lol.

[edgaguirus]

Rodan or Mothra seem most likely to get one, if Toho thinks it will sell. Mothra is a popular kaiju and could do films with a lighthearted feel. Rodan is perfect for a scary or action oriented story.

[LegendZilla]

As always I'm convinced a sci-fi fantasy movie about King Ghidorah attacking an alien world has lots of potential.

Without humans, such a story will be hard to relate.

[shadowgigan]

I think it would be really cool to have KG solo film taking place on another planet, depicting KG as the destroyer of worlds and evenetually resulting in the destruction of the alien civilization.

[SpiderZilla]

I think it would be really cool to have KG solo film taking place on another planet, depicting KG as the destroyer of worlds and evenetually resulting in the destruction of the alien civilization.

I think KG's initial arrival on Planet X would be an interesting film, especially if mind-controlling KG was easier said than done.

[edgaguirus]

As always I'm convinced a sci-fi fantasy movie about King Ghidorah attacking an alien world has lots of potential.

Without humans, such a story will be hard to relate.

The Navi aren't human, but they are relatable. A humanoid race is all you need. I'm assuming the Venusians/Martians were human like, since they were able to live among humans, so the story of how Ghidorah earned his planet killing reputation is good fodder for this kind of story.

[LegendZilla]

As always I'm convinced a sci-fi fantasy movie about King Ghidorah attacking an alien world has lots of potential.

Without humans, such a story will be hard to relate.

The Navi aren't human, but they are relatable. A humanoid race is all you need. I'm assuming the Venusians/Martians were human like, since they were able to live among humans, so the story of how Ghidorah earned his planet killing reputation is good fodder for this kind of story.

For marquee value, such a movie should include Gigan.

[JVM]

I don't think any of them could support a solo film at this stage. Some of them can hardly play an effective supporting role anymore.

The fact Rodan hasn't played an effective supporting role in thirty years, and only once in fifty-five is pretty damning.

Since Mothra vs. Godzilla, Mothra has held a poorly-received trilogy of films to herself but is otherwise a sidekick in the odd Godzilla film here and there, with her own personality mostly being shown through supporting human and fairy characters rather than illustrated in monster sequences., where she mostly acts to support Godzilla's conflicts with other monsters or opposes him.

King Ghidorah lacks personality on the level that could sustain a solo film - his interactions with other kaiju are what define him, and those dynamics are so tired that he, too, has only seen use around once a decade and in none of those situations has he really been used effectively. The best received of his later appearances is GMK and I think Toho would be hesitant to put him as a heroic character at the forefront of a project... but what do you do with a King of Terror-style solo film? Nothing satisfying to a mainstream audience for sure.

We are never getting back to the days where Toho characters can support solo films outside of Godzilla; the other monsters exist to support or oppose him and little more. They're glorified window dressing. It breaks my heart to say this, by the way, but it's the truth. Me or you seeing potential in them doesn't change the circumstances in which they exist.

[Jetty_Jags]

We are never getting back to the days where Toho characters can support solo films outside of Godzilla; the other monsters exist to support or oppose him and little more. They're glorified window dressing. It breaks my heart to say this, by the way, but it's the truth. Me or you seeing potential in them doesn't change the circumstances in which they exist.

While I completely agree that we are not at a place for solo film viability at the moment, who knows how long this kaiju trend will last. I could see things changing (although not super likely), in the future. I mean many people thought calling the franchise 6 ft under to be an understatement 10+ years ago.

[JVM]

While I completely agree that we are not at a place for solo film viability at the moment, who knows how long this kaiju trend will last. I could see things changing (although not super likely), in the future. I mean many people thought calling the franchise 6 ft under to be an understatement 10+ years ago.

I mean, I admit there's always a possibility some executive could see spinoff potential, but I've more so lost hope that the final result would be creatively satisfying or able to find a responsive audience. I don't have faith that these characters have an innate appeal outside their roles within Godzilla mythology anymore, and it does seem like there's more of a taste for Godzilla to go to unconventional places than to see old characters again, so I don't see much room left for these characters.