Bagan: Toho’s Canceled Godzilla Villain Explained

In the 1990s, Godzilla may have to face Bagan, a monster said to be one of the most powerful villains King of the Monsters has ever seen. A monster with six decades of cinematic history, Godzilla has a huge gallery of rogues. Over the years, he’s faced off against more than a dozen well-known opponents, many of whom are now monster movie icons in their own right.

Oddly enough, a Toho monster that Godzilla fans often discuss never actually appeared. god zilla Movie.Monsters was created by Toho to be god zilla villain, but he was not used. In fact, this creature can appear in not one but many Toho movies. Later, he became one of them god zilla The franchise has gone through two video game appearances, but despite many efforts, his plans for a big screen debut never came to fruition. This is who Bagan is, what Toho thinks of him and why he was cut.

Bagan’s Origins and Powers Explained

born from the heart god zilla Tomoyuki Tanaka, the creator of Bagan (formerly known as Bakan), was conceived as a shape-shifting monster rooted in Chinese mythology. Bagan is an ancient and powerful beast that roamed China thousands of years ago. Initially, he can take three different forms, a monkey-inspired creature, a dragon-like monster, and a sea monster. The idea behind these forms is that they will make Bagan a threat across land, under water, and in the sky. However, none of these three reached the level of Godzilla’s strength. For this reason, Bagan had to transform into a fourth and final form, which combines the physical characteristics of all three of Bagan’s transformations.

What will be the character in Bagan’s original Toho movie?

showa era god zilla The films ended in the 1970s and the franchise wasn’t released until 1984 with Godzilla is back. Like the original 1954 film, Godzilla is back! The focus was on Godzilla versus humans, but before Toho tackled that particular storyline, the idea of ​​Godzilla fighting another monster was considered. It was during the early planning stages of the reboot that Tanaka came up with the story of Bagan. In the film’s draft, Godzilla will defeat all forms of Pagan in four consecutive battles. As development continued, Toho chose not to pit Godzilla against another monster, choosing a story similar to 1954. only classic.

Bagan almost defeated Mothrathis god zilla The reboot isn’t the last time Toho executives have considered bringing in Bagan. Another chance to use him came in 1990 Godzilla vs ViolanteAt this point, Toho was interested in revisiting Mothra (she appeared in four of Toho’s films over the next few years.) Mothra and Bagan plan to bring back bagan god zilla If the movie succeeds, the sequel [via Vantage Point Interviews]. As its title suggests, the film will see Mothra fight against ancient monsters that can change form. As a way to connect with Godzilla’s ongoing story, the film will bring back protagonist Miki Saneda of the Heisei era. god zilla Movie.

In interviews, long god zilla Franchising Writer-director Kazuki Omori explains that the studio isn’t in favor of putting Mothra in the lead role in her own movie again, so why? Mothra and Bagan Not manufactured. However, it has not been completely abandoned yet. Omori claims parts of the story were later included in the 1992 script Godzilla vs Mothra.

Why doesn’t Godzilla fight Pagan in any of Toho’s other movies?

Hesitant to produce with Toho Mothra and Baganthe studio decided to focus on god zilla Franchise for now. However, instead of Bagan using him in Godzilla’s next movie, it upsets him forever. According to former Toho president Shogo Tomiyama, Godzilla vs Violante prevent bagan from appearing [via Vantage Point Interviews]. As Toyama revealed, “time and energy“Need to develop a brand new monster villain Godzilla vs Violante Influencing their decision not to use Bagan, they succeeded beyond imagination on the big screen.

Because of this line of thought, Toho chose to emphasize the famous monsters already from Toho’s library. This explains why the studio watched Godzilla vs Violante And Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, Godzilla vs. Mothra, and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II. That being said, the movie’s release Godzilla vs Space Godzilla And Godzilla vs Distoloy Proof that Toho’s stance on using new monsters has softened over time and the success of its films. But even so, Bagan is still unused. To this day, his only official appearances are god zilla This medium appeared in the form of two video games, super god And Visit Godzilla Film Studio.