SKREEONK!

Hey fellow fans, happy Wednesday! Jon @ UnCanny here.

I’m not sure how I’m going to keep up with all of this news in the next two months – it is getting out of control! Before we know it, all our collective butts will be planted in theaters for midnight showings across the country. Which is  a good thing, by the way.

For those of you keeping current, SXSW has been going strong these past few days in Austin, and Gareth Edwards recently hosted a panel for his upcoming film you may have heard of. An original 35mm print of the classic GOJIRA was screened, followed by Edward’s appearance, a Q&A – and the premiere of seven minutes of footage from the film. Many descriptions of said film have popped up online, but the best comes from Aint It Cool, where the ever awesome Quint brings us a level-headed yet undoubtedly excited take on what he saw. I’ve included my favorite excerpt from his write up below, but make sure you check out the entire article HERE for the full description.

On the beach a father sees the eerie receding water and grabs his daughter, starting to run before most know what’s going on. A dog is tied up to a tree and barks at the water as it begins to return in a typhoon fury. The dog breaks the leash and runs, outpacing the humans as the father carrying his daughter ducks into store with a glass front just as a tidal wave of water floods down the street. Through the glass windows we can see debris and people wash by. No sign of the dog, but later Edwards said he probably survived, got a high place. “But then he died of cancer.” Dark humor. I like it!

This section was very much in the vain of The Impossible. Natural disaster feeling, not big monster feeling if you know what I mean. In a bird’s eye aerial view we see the water lulling to a stop, the town flooded. On the rooftop of one of the flooded tall buildings people set off a series of red flares. Camera follows the flares and we see Godzilla’s arms and legs, showing the size of him. We see this in the trailer.

Back at the airport the power comes back on in the railcar and the kid seems less freaked out. The track behind them lights up in sections, brightening up the airport as it goes. One section, two, three and then something seems wrong. The next section lights up and a crazy bald bat-looking monster stands over it, two legs on each side. It’s kind of like the Cloverfield monster in proportions, but much more detailed.

This thing goes crazy and starts tearing up the railcar. Taylor-Johnson protects the kid as the thing gets thrown about, ripped open and people start spilling out. This monster is maybe 25-30ish feet tall, I’d guess. In the chaos of the attack a chain reaction of explosions is set off, jet fuel in airplanes parked at gates ignite and like dominoes they explode one after another. The final one explodes and a thick foot stomps down.

Godzilla’s got stumpy, thick legs. There’s nothing lithe about this design. Very thick, very sturdy. Camera tilts up in a full reveal as the King of Monsters faces off against this bat monster, which looks tiny in comparison. His small arms move in an agitated way and when we see his face full on he has a distinctly pissed off “I’m going to start some shit right now” stare-down. He roars and that’s it.

– Quint

We also have several new cast photos, revealing the full names of the entire Brody family (Cranston, Taylor-Johnson, Olsen, Binoche) – And I have to say that seeing the name Dr. Serizawa directly on a photo of Ken Watanabe gives me the goosebumps. I am just as excited for that element of the film as I am the Big G himself! Here’s a gallery of those images:

Pretty great, yes? Also, the official embargo for all toy and product related images is said to be lifted this coming Monday the 17th – so hold onto your butts! We’ll have everything as it hits.

Now more than ever, its a damn good time to be a fan. Cheers, everyone!

Jon @ UnCanny