The greatest monster team-up in the history of the Godzilla franchise had the potential to be even bigger. That’s saying a lot, considering thatDestroy All Monsterswas already an unprecedented affair. Crossovers were rare but admittedly nothing new, as Universal, for example, had brought handfuls of their horror movie properties together in the 1940s. However, no one had accomplished something on the scale ofDestroy All Monsters, and it remains impressive even by today’s standards..
Ahead of the movie, Toho had a host of monsters available of them, many of which being creatures who had no prior association with Godzilla. Such was the case for Varan (Varan the Unbelievable), Gorosaurus (King Kong Escapes), Baragon (Frankenstein vs. Baragon), and Manda (Atragon). Also on hand were Mothra and Rodan, creatures who had already beenwoven into the Godzilla franchise as his alliesafter enjoying their own solo movies. As if that wasn’t enough,Destroy All Monsterspacked even more monsters into the story by adding in a few kaiju original toGodzilla’s movies, namely Kumonga, Minila, Anguirus, and King Ghidorah.
Toho Cut 4 Kaiju From Destroy All Monsters
Sanda, King Kong, Ebirah, And Maguma Were All Cut
Destroy All Monstersultimatelyincluded a whopping total of 11 monsters from Toho’s kaiju library. Interestingly, that’s actually less than what Toho originally intended to do. According toThe Big Book of Giant Japanese Monsters: The Lost Films, Toho’s vision forDestroy All Monsterswas for it to combine all of its monsters, not just most of them. Specifically,it had four additional kaiju in its initial plans forDestroy All Monsters: Sanda, King Kong, Ebirah, and Maguma.
Two of the four creatures had never met Godzilla, and in turn would have amounted to especially significant additions to the story. Sanda was one of the titular Frankenstein’s Monster-inspired creatures fromWar of the Gargantuas, a sequel toFrankenstein vs. Baragon. Since he didn’t show up, Baragon stands out as the franchise’s only contribution toDestroy All Monsters’kaiju lineup. As for Maguma, he was a walrus kaiju with a small role in Toho’s 1962 monster film,Gorath.Since Maguma didn’t end up appearing inDestroy All Monsters(or any other movie),Gorathremains a standalone movie in Toho’s kaiju universe.
The other two creatures were existingenemies of Godzilla. Lobster kaiju Ebirah was the titular villain of 1965’sEbirah, Horror of the Deep. King Kong, who needs no introduction, had appeared in two Toho movies up to this point -King Kong vs. GodzillaandKing Kong Escapes.King Kong Escapesreleased just a year prior, meaningDestroy All Monsterswould have been an immediate follow-up appearance for the King of Skull Island.
King Kong’s absence can be attributed to the length of timeDestroy All Monstersremained in development. The movie was originally slated to release a year earlier alongsideKing Kong Escapes, which would have enabled it to fit neatly into the five-year contract that Toho had worked out with Rankin-Bass when it madeKing Kong vs. Godzilla. But sinceDestroy All Monsterstook longer than expected to make, Toho would have had to reach another agreement just to put King Kong inDestroy All Monsters.
Destroy All Monsters' Kaiju Selection Depended Largely On Suit Availability
Which Monsters Appeared In Its Movies Weren’t Always Decided By Creative Decisions
As for the other three monsters, the reasons for their absences are less clear-cut. However, Toho’s usual formula for picking its monsters offers a possible explanation for why they may not have been involved. The vast majority of Toho’s Godzilla movies in the Showa era were not big-budget films, and since the monster suits were so expensive to make, it was cost-effective for Toho to simply reuse costumes from its previous films. That was the plan Toho had forDestroy All Monsters, since all of its kaiju were returning monsters.
That said, not every monster suit was always on hand or in good enough condition to be used for filming. One example of these issues being an obstacle is Baragon; another LeMay book,The Big Book of Japanese Giant Monster Movies: Showa Completion 1954-1989,claims that Baragon would have played a role in the fighting if his suit hadn’t been loaned out to a different movie studio.
If there was an issue with any of the three suits or a lack of props, it’s unlikely that Toho would have produced a new one just for a small part inDestroy All Monsters.
There were also restrictions on what it could do with Manda and Varan, as the studio possessed few remaining props associated with the creatures. It’s possible that a similar situation impacted Toho’s decision-making when it came to Sanda, Maguma, and Ebirah. If there was an issue with any of the three suits, it’s unlikely that Toho would have produced a new one just for a small part inDestroy All Monsters.
It Could Have Led To More Appearances From Maguma & Sanda
Had Toho been able to use the entire roster it had crafted forDestroy All Monsters, it would have had the potential to offer an even more epic team-up. After all, it would have included King Kong, one of the most recognizable movie monsters of all time and one of Godzilla’s most notable adversaries. Sanda would have been a major addition as well, especially sinceWar of the Gargantuasis one ofToho’s most popular non-Godzilla kaiju movies. But aside from the added excitement factor, it doesn’t appear that this version ofDestroy All Monsterswould have differed much from the final product.
Both were stories about aliens controlling Godzilla and theother Monster Island residents, who would eventually unite for an action-packed finale. Among the only known differences is that there would have been a scene where Maguma would have been shown guarding the aliens' spacecraft in the first draft, but it’s hard to say if this would have culminated in any additional action sequences or monster fights. However, it may have amounted to some fun scenes where King Kong has a team attack with Godzilla against Ghidorah or Sanda joins Godzilla and the others in the beatdown against Ghidorah.
Chances are, the biggest impact of these four monsters appearing would have been the effect they’d have on the lore of the franchise. For instance, establishing Maguma as an ally or enemy of Godzilla inDestroy All Monsterswould have drastically raised his profile, possibly leading to more interest in the kaiju in future projects. Sanda stands out as the biggest Toho monster never to have a connection to Godzilla, and it’s worth wondering if helping him beat King Ghidorah would have paved the way for moreteam-ups with Godzilla.
Destroy All Monsters
Cast
Destroy All Monsters is a 1968 science fiction film directed by Ishirō Honda. Set at the turn of the century, it depicts Earth’s iconic monsters, contained on Monsterland, unleashed by the alien Kilaaks, instigating chaos worldwide. The narrative includes appearances by Godzilla and other well-known kaiju figures.
