70 years, 38 movies, 1 monstar: A Godzilla timeline

He does more than smash things. See what the monster has represented over time, how he’s evolved, and where he is headed next.

THE SHOWA PERIOD

Except for the original film, in which the monster is a metaphor for the devastation caused by the US in Japan, Showa period Godzilla movies are typically light-hearted. They show Godzilla evolving from a monster into a defending hero.

There were 15 movies made in this 21-year period. (Showa, incidentally, is Japanese for “Enlightened Peace”.)

* Gojira, 1954: In a devastated post-war Japan, a monster birthed and fuelled by nuclear radiation threatens the country’s cities.

* Godzilla

The Return of Godzilla (1984).

THE HEISEI PERIOD

After a nearly-10-year break, the franchise is revived in Japan, to mark the 30-year anniversary of the original. The Return of Godzilla (1984) unfolds as a direct sequel to the first film. The monster is once again an elemental threat to Japan (a plot seen as reflective of rising Cold War-era tensions).

Soon enough, though, the Heisei period is marked by a positive evolution. (Heisei is Japanese for “Peace Achieved”.)

* The Return of Godzilla, 1984: Japan objects to US and Soviet plans to nuke Godzilla.

* Godzilla vs Biollante, 1989: On the dangers of bioengineering. Can the “Godzilla cell”, in the wrong hands, turn even a rose into a deadly threat?

* Godzilla vs King Ghidorah, 1991: In an intriguing twist, time-travelling enemies bring a cybernetic King Ghidorah back from the future, to prevent Japan’s economic ascendancy.

* Godzilla vs Mothra: Battle for Earth (1992)

* Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla II (1993)

* Godzilla vs SpaceGodzilla, 1994: In which Godzilla defeats a space-born clone.

* Godzilla vs Destoroyah, 1995: Pits Godzilla against Destoroyah, and against his own overheating radioactive body.

THE MILLENNIUM PERIOD

A still from Godzilla 2000: Millennium (1999).

* Godzilla, 1998: The monster moves to America, in the first Hollywood production. With its reptilian slouch and spindly legs, director Roland Emmerich’s take is widely derided by fans of the franchise.

* Godzilla 2000: Millennium, 1999: A Japanese production, it is followed by five sequels in which the monster fights a range of foes, from car-sized dragonflies called meganula and their queen, Megaguirus (2000), to old nemeses Mothra and King Ghidorah (2001) and Mechagodzilla (2002). A battle between the monsters also threatens Tokyo (2003). Godzilla: Final Wars, 2004, marks 50 years of the monster on screens.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024).

In the Monsterverse

* Godzilla, 2014: Legendary Pictures buys the right to mash monsters together, and the franchise gets a boost in the US. In this first film in the Legendary series, Godzilla is the world’s only hope amid attacks by an army of mutant kaiju.

* Shin Godzilla, 2016: With its red, ripped flesh and jagged maw, this is a dramatic and nightmarish reinvention by the Japanese directors Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi. Planet of the Monsters (2017), City on the Edge of Battle (2018) and The Planet Eater (2018) will follow.

* Godzilla: King of the Monsters, 2019: The second in the Legendary series is followed by Godzilla vs Kong (2021) and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024).

* Godzilla Minus One, 2023: Between those last two, a jewel emerges from Japan. Takashi Yamazaki directs an evocative throwback. It’s a retelling of the birth of the monster, in a war-torn, exhausted, depleted Japan. But this time, what the monster represents, perhaps more than anything, is a chance at redemption.

* Godzilla x Kong 3: Rise of the First Titan, the 39th in the overall franchise, is due for release in 2027.