Toho’s Forgotten Walrus Monster Almost Met Godzilla In This 1968 Kaiju Film

Had Toho gone with one in every of its early plans for Destroy All Monsters, the studio’s walrus kaiju can be remembered as we speak as a chunk of Godzilla historical past. Though it is well-known that Godzilla is the bread and butter of Toho, it is vital to notice that they made a number of monster films outdoors the Godzilla model, with various ranges of success. A number of the most outstanding examples are Rodan, Mothra, and Struggle of the Gargantuas.

In lots of of those circumstances, a connection to Godzilla didn’t exist at first however fashioned ultimately, which is what in the end occurred with each Rodan and Mothra. One specific monster film, Destroy All Monsters, is liable for bringing a number of monster films into the broader Godzilla universe as his allies, because it featured Varan from Varan the Unbelievable, Manda from Atragon, and Baragon from Frankenstein vs. Baragon. Curiously, these weren’t the one standalone movies Toho almost related with Godzilla’s world. Gorath virtually turned one in every of them, with Maguma serving as its proxy.

Maguma Almost Appeared In Destroy All Monsters

Maguma Was Supposed To Assist Godzilla Beat King Ghidorah

In 1962, Toho launched Gorath, a science fiction catastrophe film about humanity making an attempt to cease an asteroid referred to as Gorath from colliding with Earth. Towards the tip of the film, efforts to stop the destruction of Earth resulted within the awakening of a large monster often called Maguma from the ocean. Resembling a walrus, Maguma had a short conflict with Gorath’s human protagonists earlier than being killed by their superior weaponry. In the end, it was a small, inconsequential position. Since Maguma was solely readily available for a part of the climax, Gorath is not even thought of a real kaiju film.

Regardless of that, Maguma got here shut to creating a shock comeback in Destroy All Monsters. In line with The Large Guide of Large Japanese Monsters: The Misplaced Movies by John LeMay, an early draft of Destroy All Monsters referred to as for Maguma to seem as one of many many monsters that the movie’s alien villains would place beneath their management. There was speculated to be a sequence the place Maguma can be proven guarding the aliens’ spaceship.

Like the opposite monsters within the film, Maguma would have been free of their management, paving the best way for a team-up in opposition to Ghidorah (led by Godzilla) on the finish of the film. Apparently, on this model of the story, Maguma and Ebirah, Horror of the Deep’s Ebirah had been meant to be amongst Godzilla’s main allies throughout the ultimate battle with Ghidorah. However because the story was revised, sure monsters (together with Maguma) had been taken out and others added in to switch them.

Maguma Is Solely Loosely Linked To The Godzilla Franchise

Maguma Has Appeared In Some Godzilla Media, However Is not Canon To Any Of The Reside-Motion Motion pictures

On condition that Maguma was a throwaway creature in a lesser-known Toho movie, Destroy All Monsters was arguably his absolute best shot at relevance. Each Baragon and Manda reveal the potential impression his inclusion might have had; had he appeared, he’d have been completely absorbed into Godzilla lore, opening the door to future franchise appearances. Years after showing in Destroy All Monsters, Baragon returned in Godzilla, Mothra, and Ghidorah: Large Monsters All-Out Assault, whereas Manda appeared as a secondary antagonist in Godzilla: Last Wars.

Maguma might have been afforded related alternatives by an opportunity to assist Godzilla in Destroy All Monsters. As a substitute, he is a creature with minimal hyperlinks to Godzilla’s world. He is appeared in restricted Godzilla media, akin to comedian books and cell video games, however has but to function in any films since his 1962 debut in Gorath. Because it stands, his greatest connection to the franchise is the novelization for one in every of Netflix’s Godzilla anime films, Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters, the place it was established that Maguma destroyed North Korea in that continuity’s historical past.

Maguma might proceed to have such roles in Godzilla tales, however is more likely to stay absent from the live-action aspect of his universe. Theoretically, Toho might revive him in a future installment within the Godzilla franchise, particularly if it ever affords one other team-up occasion on the dimensions of Destroy All Monsters, however given the low hype that will encompass the character, the probabilities of that taking place appear moderately low.