Happy May, G-Fans!!
For many of us, this is a month we’ve been anxiously awaiting for half a decade. As of this update, Legendary Pictures’ Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a mere 30 days away, and I couldn’t be more excited! To say that this month is a big one for Godzilla is a pretty sizable understatement, and the GODZILLA NOVELIZATION PROJECT is looking to celebrate this historic month in a number of exciting ways!
Over the next 30 days, the GNP will be unleashing a bevy of new content, from new novelization chapters, short story entries, and behind-the-scenes blogs, to Timeline updates and new tweaks to the website! A lot of what’s coming has been in the works for a while now, and I can’t wait to tell you all about what’s in store!
First up in the GNP’s “Month of Godzilla” Celebration is the long awaited Chapter 2 of Godzilla vs. Gigan, one of the site’s most popular books! This one took a lot longer to complete than anticipated, but finally gained momentum thanks to me obtaining a more accurate translation of the dialogue than the subtitles of the Sony/Kraken releases offer. (Sorry G-Fans, no “You cheeky pig!” moments in this novelization!) Maintaining accuracy is a big deal for the project, so while some of the dialogue in the novels will be extended/altered slightly, the lines will be as close to their actual meaning as I can make them.
That said, it’s time to join Gengo as he arrives at the mysterious World Children’s Land, and falls under the shadow of the Godzilla Tower in Godzilla vs. Gigan: Chapter 2! Read it here.
That does it for today’s big update, but before I go, I have a few other teases – and a hugely historical era shift – to mention!
Firstly, as you are all no doubt aware, we have a new Godzilla film hitting theaters in only a few weeks! As I’ve mentioned before, the GODZILLA NOVELIZATION PROJECT will not be adapting the U.S.-produced Godzilla films into book form (since official novelizations for all three Hollywood films already exist). However, this doesn’t mean that the project won’t be celebrating the new film in some way. You’ll have to wait and see what I mean, but I have something in store for readers that should be (you knew this was coming)… legendary.
Secondly, in my last update, I mentioned a project I was particularly thrilled to be working on, and a corresponding story that went along with it. That story will be ready to share in just a few days. Without giving too much away yet, I’ll just say that I had an amazing opportunity to use the GNP to help a very special Godzilla fan through a difficult time, and the experience has left me both humbled and determined to work harder than ever to see this project through to fruition.
Thats it for the ever so cryptic teases! But before I go, I would be remiss if I don’t mention the massive news from Godzilla’s homelands of Japan. As of today, May 1st, 2019, the Heisei era (from which the second Godzilla series, along with nearly 30 years worth of other Kaiju films and Tokusatsu TV programs, derive their “series” moniker) has officially ended in Japan with the abdication of Emperor Akihito. In his place has risen his son, Naruhito, and his ascension has brought with it a new era: Reiwa. The shift to the new empirial era has brought with it much reflection on the history of Heisei, and for us Kaiju fans, it’s been a time to look back at the wonders given to us by the hard working people who, for the past three decades, brought monsters to life.
From 1989 to 2019, 16 Japanese Godzilla films – from Biollante to The Planet Eater – were produced. While the six films produced between 1999 and 2004 are known as the Millennium films to fans, all six – plus Shin Godzilla and the Anime Trilogy – were produced during the Heisei historical era. That’s one heck of an impressive legacy, and constitutes a block of the overall Godzilla franchise that played a huge part in making me the fan I am today.
For all the wonderful memories it’s given me, I say goodbye to Heisei with at once nostalgic sadness and irrepressible hope. While it’s still too early to know whether or not the Reiwa name will be used as a moniker for the next series of Godzilla films (perhaps appropriating Shin and the Anime films under its umbrella, just as Heisei did for The Return of Godzilla 30 years ago), I can’t wait to see what wonders this new era will surely have in store for the King of the Monsters.
Thank you all for reading, and for being such great fans. More updates are coming soon, so stay tuned!
And remember… only 30 days until the King returns.
The Godzilla Novelization Project 