Godzilla '98 Stomps Back Onto 4K With New 25th Anniversary Steelbook

1998 was the year of Godzilla. Roland Emmerich, the director of sci-fi blockbuster Independence Day, brought Toho's King of the Monsters to American audiences in the reboot starring Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo, Hank Azaria, Doug Savant, and Harry Shearer. The third-highest grossing film of the year despite a roaring thumbs down from critics, Godzilla '98 saw the CG-created monstrous reptile surface in New York City, where scientist Dr. Niko "Nick" Tatopoulos (Broderick) and French insurance investigator Philippe Roache (Reno) were tasked with stopping the monster's rampage. And now, in time for Godzilla's 25th anniversary, the 2019 4K remaster is being re-issued as a new 4K UHD steelbook. 

Pre-orders for the Godzilla 1998 25th anniversary 4K steelbook are live here on Amazon for $30.99. The two-disc set, which includes the previously-remastered Godzilla '98 on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray disc with a digital copy code, is available to own October 24th.

The official description: "Following French atomic bomb tests in the South Pacific, an unknown creatur is spotted passing through the Panama Canal. Scientist Niko Tatopoulos is called in to investigate the matter, and he quickly arrives at the conclusion that a giant, irradiated lizard has been created by the explosions. Godzilla then makes its way north, landing in Manhattan to begin wreaking havoc in the big city. Even with the combined forces of the U.S. military to fight the monster, will it be enough to save the people of New York?"

Special features include visual effects commentary from the team behind Godzilla; "Behind the Scenes of Godzilla with Charles Caiman," a brief making-of documentary featuring Emmerich, co-writer Dean Devlin, Broderick, and Reno; the "All-Time Best Godzilla Fight Scenes" featurette; and the "Heroes" music video by The Wallflowers.

Sony's TriStar Pictures planned a Godzilla trilogy, but a big budget of nearly $150 million meant the $379 million grossed at the worldwide box office wasn't enough to spawn a Godzilla 2.

"We made an intellectual decision that sounds good in the room, but is really terrible for making a movie," Devlin told Yahoo Entertainment when reflecting on Godzilla 25 years later. "We decided that Godzilla was neither good nor evil — it was just an animal looking to reproduce. It was a threat to us because it puts us at risk in order to survive."

"That's an interesting way to approach it, but it doesn't tell the audience how they're supposed to feel about the title character," Devlin explained of the monster's fate. "They were like, 'Am I happy he's dying? Am I crying? I don't get it.' So that was a huge mistake: Had I been able to do it over again, I would have made Godzilla an absolute hero, and everyone would have been rooting for him the whole time."

The proposed sequel would have followed Broderick's Tatopoulos to Monster Island — home of Godzilla and such creatures as the spider-like Kumonga and the ant-like Kamacuras — after an egg hatched Godzilla's spawn. 

The Godzilla (1998) 25th Anniversary 4K UHD steelbook releases October 24th. Pre-order here at Amazon.