'Batman vs Godzilla' Is The Movie The World Missed Out On

A viral tweet reignited interest in a scrapped film this week, pitting Godzilla against Batman.In [...]

By Michael Hein

A viral tweet reignited interest in a scrapped film this week, pitting Godzilla against Batman.

In 1966, Toho and Greenway Productions bought two treatments for a prospective movie called Battoman tai Gojiro, or Batman Against Godzilla. The movie never came to be, but it hangs in the realm of possibility in articles and Wiki pages online.

Last Thursday, a Twitter user named Sean drew attention back to the incredible-sounding scrapped project. He posted a couple of screen shots from the Wikipedia entry, including a synopsis of how the film was supposed to end.

"Batman scales Godzilla and plants the bomb on his neck, tying it to the beast with Batrope before he moves to safety and detonates it, knocking the beast out," it reads. "Japanese scientists build a rocket around Godzilla while he is unconscious, before ultimately launching the rocket into orbit above Earth's surface, with Godzilla forever contained within."

One treatment for the unmade movie was written by Shinichi Sekizawa. The other had no name attached to it, though it was reportedly written by an American. That one is available to the public to this day, in the University of Wyoming's American Heritage Center. It is a part of a collection of documents owned by William Dozier, a producer on the 1966 Batman series starring Adam West.

Perhaps the most confusing part of the scrapped crossover is how established Batman was as a pop cultural icon at the time. If it was only the first year of the acclaimed TV series, there had not been much time for the dark knight to become a contemporary icon.

Depending on when in 1966 the treatments were written, they could even pre-date the show, making it even more of a gamble for the two studios. Greenway Productions was involved in the American TV series, but that does not necessarily mean that Batman was a proven commidity for them yet, which perhaps explains why the movie never came to be.

The responses to the resurfaced masterpiece were mostly mournful cries from fans who wish they could see the film.

"If Frankenstein can fight King Kong in the Toho Universe, why CAN'T Batman fight Godzilla?" one person posited.

"Yup plot ideas were used in Son of Godzilla!" added another.

Some fans debated who would win the unlikely showdown, while others held out hope that they could still see it down the line.

"With all of the 66' Batman goodness coming back, maybe @AllredMD will end up drawing it in comic book form down the line," suggested a fan. "One can dream. Godzilla vs. Batman 66'."

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