Last year marked the 70th anniversary of the first Godzilla, and Toho has spent much of that 70th year going all-in to celebrate the King of the Monsters. From more movies, to theme park rides, to plenty of crazy merch, it’s been a great time to be a Godzilla fan, and it’s about to be even better.
Ahead of its release this week, io9 has an exclusive look inside Godzilla: The First 70 Years, a titanic celebration of the last seven decades of kaiju moviemaking. Published by Abrams and written by Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski, The First 70 Years charts a visual and narrative history of Godzilla’s creation and his titanic rise in Japanese cinema.
From the very first movie back in 1954 all the way to the international success of Godzilla Minus One, The First 70 Years is a treasure trove of Godzilla’s history in Japan, featuring insights from across every era of Godzilla filmmaking, as well as tons of rare behind-the-scenes photography, production materials, and marketing to gawp over.
To celebrate the book’s release, io9 has a look at just some of that rare visual history from within the book, including chilling concept art of Hedorah’s acid attack in Godzilla vs. Hedorah, sales copy from the first scrapped attempt to bring Godzilla stateside, and behind-the-scenes photos from production on the 1954 classic. Check them out below in our exclusive gallery from Godzilla: The First 70 Years!
Godzilla: The First 70 Years Behind-the-Scenes Gallery
Godzilla: The First 70 Years releases tomorrow, July 15, and is available to preorder now.
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