Skip to main content
Games Radar
  • Newsarama
  • Total Film
  • Edge
  • Retro Gamer
  • SFX
Total Film The smarter take on movies
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best Netflix Shows
Recommended reading
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Sci-Fi Movies Next Godzilla x Kong movie announces title with a dramatic new teaser – and it's already in production
Godzilla Minus One
Superhero Movies Superman director James Gunn says the DC film is inspired by the best Godzilla movie in decades: "At its core it's a human story"
Godzilla Minus One
Superhero Movies Godzilla Minus One director has incredibly wholesome response to hearing his movie inspired James Gunn's Superman
Godzilla cashing a boat in the ocean during the sci-fi movie, Godzilla Minus One.
Action Movies Tom Cruise and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning director have high praise for "very beautiful, very human" Godzilla Minus One: "You reinvented the genre"
Lego Godzilla model seen from the side, breathing blue 'fire'
Toys & Collectibles The king of all monster Lego sets is on its way with a simply enormous Lego Godzilla kit
Scarlett Johansson as Zora Bennett in Jurassic World Rebirth
Sci-Fi Movies Jurassic World Rebirth director says the new sequel pushes the horror "a little bit further" than previous movies: "I was kind of amazed that we were allowed to go that far"
Jonathan Bailey in Jurassic World Rebirth
Action Movies Final trailer for Jurassic World Rebirth shows water is just as dangerous as land, as Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey face off against new dinosaur foes
  1. Comics
  2. Conventions

Godzilla (2014): 10 Things We Learned At Comic-Con 2013

Features
By Rosie Fletcher published 21 July 2013

Gareth Edwards brings the mega-monsters

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

It's gotta be big!

It's gotta be big!

This will be the biggest incarnation of Godzilla yet, according to director Gareth Edwards who toyed with the sizings of the kaiju behemoth for sometime before settling on his massive stature.

“We’re going to make the tallest Godzilla ever by far. We started doing bits of animation but if he was too tall – you’d see him straight away so we had to make him smaller. What we settled on he’s just taller than any other one so far. But you have to be able to hide him.” Says Edwards.

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
There will be monsters

There will be monsters

Obviously there’s ‘Zilla but that’s not the only creature we can expect to encounter in Edwards’ movie. Exactly which or what, though, he won’t say.

“He will be meeting other creatures, which people are speculating on, and any more than that I will neither confirm nor deny.” Edwards conceals.

As long as it’s not Minilla or Godzuki we’re fine with it.

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
Gareth Edwards is cool

Gareth Edwards is cool

This maybe his Hollywood debut, and a massive leap in scale from his low-fi sci-fi Monsters but one thing the cast all agree on is that Edwards took things in his stride.

“It was very open, the camera rolling, no ‘cut’, in your own time. He left it open. It made you feel more relaxed. he’s a real leader and we all looked up to him, he was very calm.” Says Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

“I was more nervous than he was. He keeps a cool head – pleasant and calm and kind.” Agrees Bryan Cranston.

“Because of his background in special FX he can seemlessly communicate what he needs.” Says Elizabeth Olsen. “He did it with a sense of calm.”

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
Bryan Cranston's not funny

Bryan Cranston's not funny

The Malcolm In The Middle and Breaking Bad actor won’t be playing for laughs (much) as the nuclear power plant worker father of Aaron Johnson’ military man.

“He’s a very sincere guy” says Cranston. “There was no room for humour in my character – well, a little bit. But it has to be organic – if it takes you out of the moment you fail.”

“When this guy does something serious he’s going to knock it out the park.” Agrees Edwards.

However, Bryan Cranston at the press conference was very funny.

“I play the title character of Godzilla" was his opening gambit.

Then later “I spoke to Gareth, he said ‘it has a very strong father/son component in it.' I said ‘That’s great, who’s going to play my father...?’"

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
Aaron Taylor-Johnson's front and centre

Aaron Taylor-Johnson's front and centre

The supporting cast is epic – as well as Olsen (as Taylor-Johnson’s wife) and Cranston we’ll see Juliette Binoche and Ken Watanabe talking key supporting roles. But Edwards confirms Taylor-Johnson is very much the lead as the young naval officer trying to get back to his family when the monster strikes.

“He’s got such a soulful quality about him.” Says Edwards.

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
It's a people piece

It's a people piece

Behemoths aside, the cast all insist this is a heavily character driven story, bringing with it some of the heart and sensibilities of Edwards’ sweet debut road movie/love story/creature-feature Monsters .

“If this was just a monster movie I wouldn’t be here.” Says Bryan Cranston. “Because he was able to drive this story into a very well developed character driven saga that's what made me want to be part of it. “

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
It's an emotional beast

It's an emotional beast

“When we did the presentation to the studio I ended up wrapping it up talking about the emotion of the film. I think if people come out of this movie and haven’t had to stop themselves from nearly crying then I’ve failed. I think we’ve captured something where that could be the case.” Says Edwards.

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
There's plenty of action!

There's plenty of action!

All the major cast members get involved in some meaty action/peril scenes.

“My role is very physically demanding, there are lots of opportunities to do cool things.” Says Taylor-Johnson.

“I had to be part of a massive group of extras all running in the same direction. There was something about being part of a massive group [that was exciting].” Says Olsen, though both hinted at some serious falling down things/hanging off things moments that they weren't allowed to reveal.

Then of course there’s the monsters. “They’re all performing to creatures.” Says Edwards. “Eyelines become really important.”

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
It's a natural thing

It's a natural thing

“The heart of Godzilla is the nuclear thing, the original is an analogy for Hiroshima, we haven’t done anything directly related to Hiroshima but we have addressed it, some of those issues do become part of the movie.” Says Edwards.

But in terms of its core: “Man vs nature is the reoccurring theme. If you’re going to take on nature you will lose.”


Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
Sweet 60

Sweet 60

The film will be released 60 years after the original 1954 Godzilla , but that wasn’t a calculated thing.

“It’s happy accident that it fell on the 60 th anniversary.” Says Edwards. Still, it does present opportunities for a year of monster celebrations, and plenty of time to revisit ‘zillas old and new. Edwards knows his movies (he actually had the Blu-ray of the original Godzilla on the table in front of him when Legendary rang to offer him the gig) so we’re expecting something contemporary, heart-felt, fresh but with one respectful (giant) foot in the past.

Page 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
Rosie Fletcher
Social Links Navigation

Rosie is the former editor of Total Film, before she moved to be the Special Edition Editor for the magazine group at Future. After that she became the Movies Editor at Digital Spy, and now she's the UK Editor of Den of Geek. She's an experienced movie and TV journalist, with a particular passion for horror.

Read more
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Next Godzilla x Kong movie announces title with a dramatic new teaser – and it's already in production
Godzilla Minus One
Superman director James Gunn says the DC film is inspired by the best Godzilla movie in decades: "At its core it's a human story"
Godzilla Minus One
Godzilla Minus One director has incredibly wholesome response to hearing his movie inspired James Gunn's Superman
Godzilla cashing a boat in the ocean during the sci-fi movie, Godzilla Minus One.
Tom Cruise and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning director have high praise for "very beautiful, very human" Godzilla Minus One: "You reinvented the genre"
Lego Godzilla model seen from the side, breathing blue 'fire'
The king of all monster Lego sets is on its way with a simply enormous Lego Godzilla kit
Scarlett Johansson as Zora Bennett in Jurassic World Rebirth
Jurassic World Rebirth director says the new sequel pushes the horror "a little bit further" than previous movies: "I was kind of amazed that we were allowed to go that far"
Latest in Conventions
HyperX streaming bundle
Best Buy has the perfect streamer pack for any starter - and it's $70 off
Samsung
Samsung KX and eSports organisation LDN UTD reveal free, star-studded All Access Gaming event
New York Comic Con
All of the upcoming comic conventions in 2022 and 2023
Charlize Theron reflects on playing Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road during Comic-Con 2020 panel
How to watch Comic-Con 2020: Stream SDCC @ Home
New Mutants
The New Mutants gets a new trailer and a virtual Comic-Con panel
Latest in Features
Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, and Mister Miracle as the Justice Gang in Superman
The Justice Gang explained - The non-Justice League in James Gunn's Superman may be influenced by team of classic DC supervillains
Team Fortress 2 characters looking at a map
I have 464 games on my Steam wishlist, 23 games in my Steam Summer Sale shopping cart, and I can feel my already overstuffed library giving me the side-eye
Heavy Metal Death Can demo screenshot
I got a nicotine rush and set zombies on fire in this PS1-style survival horror demo, and it's basically Resident Evil on a submarine
A PSVR 2 review image next to the marketing reveal image of the Meta Quest 3S, separated by an orange line
Xbox finally has a VR headset, but it's not the PSVR 2 rival I was hoping for
Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster image showing a giant city built upon a hill by the sea
Bravely Default's remaster is secretly the Switch 2's must-play RPG, but it's still flying under the radar
Rematch players celebrating in a large stadium
"The essence of football is not in the rules": Rematch's creative director on nailing that five-a-side feeling and making a game "about kicking a ball rather than kicking heads in"
  1. Sam fires at the ghost mech squid boss in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
    1
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  2. 2
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  3. 3
    Tron: Catalyst review: "Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I'm let down by a time-loop story that falls flat"
  4. 4
    FBC: Firebreak review: "A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that's missing far too much of what made Control special"
  5. 5
    Dune: Awakening review: "Both extremely compelling and extraordinarily boring, sometimes at the same time – yet still a true Dune love letter"
  1. A T-rex in Jurassic World Rebirth
    1
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  2. 2
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  3. 3
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  4. 4
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  5. 5
    From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review: "Brilliant action, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...