Godzilla Producer Dean Devlin Reflects on Disappointment of 1998 Film and Sequel Plans

Following the massive successes of Stargate and Independence Day, creative team Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich could seemingly do no wrong in the ’90s, though their 1998 attempt to deliver a Godzilla to American audiences was met with major disappointment. While there are a number of factors that contributed to that underwhelming reception, Devlin thinks he knows exactly what the issue was, which was the storytelling decision to make the creature itself a neutral figure as opposed to being a force for either good or bad, leaving audiences baffled about how to react to the situation. The filmmaker also noted that plans for a follow-up would have seemingly corrected that issue more definitively.

“We made an intellectual decision that sounds good in the room, but is really terrible for making a movie,” Devlin shared with Yahoo! Entertainment. “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.” 

Of the creature being killed, Devlin pointed out, “[Audiences] 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.”

It didn’t take long for Devlin and Emmerich to realize the error of their ways, almost immediately determining that a follow-up film would offer up the opportunity to frame Godzilla in a more heroic light.

“We really wanted to go to Monster Island,” Devlin confirmed. “In the original Godzilla movies, Godzilla started off as a monster, but became a hero by the time Monster Island was introduced.”

Based on the poor reception the film earned, the studio opted not to move forward on a sequel. It wasn’t until 2014 that another American attempt at adapting the material moved forward, earning multiple follow-ups and crossovers, though Devlin has been too frustrated with his challenges on the material to personally watch them. 

“I have so much PTSD from my experience with Godzilla, I could never bring myself to watch the new version,” the filmmaker joked. “That chapter of my life is closed.”  

Godzilla is set to return in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which is slated to hit theaters on March 15, 2024.

What do you think of the filmmaker’s remarks? Let us know in the comments!