Happy December, readers! Hard to believe we’re already closing in on the end of 2019, and getting close to the second anniversary of the GNP! We really are growing up fast…
Anyway, I’m here to talk about a FAR more important anniversary than mine, and, as I often tend to do in these updates, to tell a story that makes the subject of today’s addition to the site particularly special…
25 years ago today, Toho released their 21st Godzilla film, and the film that itself signified the 40th Anniversary of the franchise: Kensho Yamashita’s Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla. It was a tale of psychics and space travel, of mechas and monsters, of cute baby Godzillas and even a bit of romance. Despite the reputation the film has (some might argue unfairly) developed over the years, this entry in the Godzilla series has always been one of my favorites. I am fully aware that by saying this I have delegitimized myself to a certain sect of the fandom, and should be expecting an angry mob to descend on my home with torches and pitchforks. But you know what? I simply don’t care. Bring it on, I say! I fully intend to die on this hill, proudly waving a banner that says, “SPACEGODZILLA IS UNDERRATED!”
Whew, glad I got that off my chest.
Anyway, back to business. I mention all this for two reasons, and upon the first of those reasons hangs a tale…
As I talk about briefly in my introduction to the GNP, the idea that would eventually become this project first started back when I was in high school. I was 17, and got it into my head that adapting the Godzilla series to the written word would be a fun project to tackle, and in my excitement I produced at least two fully written prologues to potential novelizations. One of those prologues was for Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla, and it was the one I thought turned out the best. It was a brief retelling of the film’s opening moments: a series of bright lights shoot through space, followed by the imposing form of a monster. The lights crash to earth, explosions ensue, Godzilla roars… it all rolled out of my mind and onto the spare notebook paper I kept in my homework binder. Ah, youth.
Needless to say, a follow-up chapter never materialized. The pressures and stresses of being a teenager ultimately took precedence, and your humble author shelved the project, secretly hoping the day would come when I could dust it off.
That was ten years ago. How time flies.
But obviously the project did get dusted off. Over the last two years, it has evolved beyond anything I ever could have dreamed of in high school. And in that time, that prologue for Spacegodzilla remained in the back of my mind, waiting to become an official part of the GNP…
Which brings me to the second reason I’m telling you all this: that prologue has been sitting on my computer – fully polished, re-written from its previous “written by a teenager” form, and ready to publish – for over a year!
So why did I wait?
Because releasing it on the 25th Anniversary of the film seemed like the perfect way to celebrate a film I love, regardless of how many gatekeepers attempt to insult or dismiss me.
So, without further ado, the GODZILLA NOVELIZATION PROJECT proudly presents the beginning of Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla: The Unofficial Novelization.
Read it here, and stay tuned for more soon!
Catch ya next time!
The Godzilla Novelization Project 