Godzilla Director on why the Titan was Turned Into a Hero

Ever since his debut in the 50s, Godzilla has been one of the most iconic monsters ever to appear onscreen. And with his current run of heroic exploits, the King of Monsters has now become even more of a pop-culture icon than ever before.

However, this wasn’t always so, as Godzilla was more of a menace to humanity when he first debuted in the 1950s and a special effects director behind TOHO’s original incarnation of the Titan explained his gradual transformation from menace to hero.

In a recently resurfaced interview with special effects director Teruyoshi Nakano (as spotted by @Noe31158907 on Twitter), Nakano explained the reason why the Kaiju was transformed from a more dangerous monster as it was in the Showa era to the current hero that fights off other monsters.

Godzilla in 1954. Credit: TOHO

According to Nakano, it was a reflection of the times as the franchise would not have been widely accepted by all if Godzilla wasn’t a hero.

“I believe that without any changes to Godzilla’s character, the series would not have been able to continue. If Godzilla had remained a villain, probably only hardcore Godzilla fans would have watched the movies, and not the general audience.”

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Nakano believed this decision to be the correct one for the time as it did result in a more successful franchise, but Nakano personally better enjoyed the more monstrous version of the fan-favourite kaiju,

“I think it was correct to change Godzilla’s character…it was a reaction to the times and changes in the audience. But myself, I basically like a scary Godzilla, rather than a good Godzilla.”