Ever since the SAG-AFTRA strike caused Legendary Entertainment to cancel their panel, it seemed as though there wouldn't be anything new would get revealed since the hype was mainly for the first look at Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire. However, it looks like we still got quite a lot at San Diego Comic-Con with a bunch of Monsterverse and Gamera content. Graphic novels, comic book crossovers, and anime has really gotten fans excited for the rest of this year and early next year. Here are the things that was revealed at SDCC.
Gamera: Rebirth Release Date, Trailer, and Fifth Monster Revealed:
To start off with our most recent announcement, there was a panel for Gamera: Rebirth that happened on Sunday and as expected it revealed everything. The fifth and final opponent, release date, and a new trailer dropped and I just have to say that second trailer was everything that I hoped for to make me sold on this anime.
The second trailer really focuses on all five of the monsters that Gamera will be facing giving us a closer look at these monsters. We see Jiger, Gyaos, Guiron, Zigra, and the last edition, Viras. It really looks to be action packed, but we don't get a whole lot of detail on story. We know the anime is about five children on summer break that were making plans to have one last vacation together before the next school year started until all of these monsters appeared and attack Japan. This prompts Gamera to appear and start a fight with these monsters while the children bare witness to Gamera's battles. In the meantime, there is a secret government organization that has known the existence of these monsters.
The new design for Viras looks drastically different from how it looked in Gamera vs Viras. It looks more mechanical and has a new ability that emits electric shocks from its tentacles. What is interesting is that Gamera seems to be having the hardest time fighting Viras and it could be that Viras is the final boss of this show. It even acts like a final boss monster when it lifted Gamera up in the air and tosses him back down as a way to finish him off. I have speculated before that if there was any monster from the Showa era that was perfect as the final boss it was Viras.
I will criticize that the CG in the anime is not great to look at. The monsters look fine, but the humans just look terrible and I wish that Seshita would move away from CG when doing anime. Otherwise, his idea to make a kaiju anime that concentrates on the monster fights really shows in this trailer and it lets you know in full blast that we are in for one heck of a ride. The trailer showed a lot of action non-stop that actually looks very brutal and feels like a lot of weight was put into those punches and throws Gamera does. There is even some monster gore at least on Gamera when he gets stabbed by Jiger or slashed by Guiron. Even when Gamera was biting down on Zigra's neck there was blue blood seeping out from the wound before Gamera tries to drown him. Overall, the trailer has me really excited for the anime now. I am praying that this show is actually good and that we see more Gamera in the future.
The last thing that got revealed is a tie-in novelization of Gamera: Rebirth. There seems to be multiple novels over the course of time as this novel is considered to be "Part 1," which is slated to release in Japan on August 24th. "Part 2" is apparently planned to release this Winter. The novels will go into more depth of the show's story that didn't make the cut into the show.
I know that everyone was burned by the Polygon Godzilla movie trilogy, but it does seem like Seshita is trying to make things right this time. The show has a lot more to offer than when he did Godzilla and if Gamera: Rebirth does do well then you can guarantee more Gamera content in the future and that is what fans have been asking for years. Just as Seshita said in his interview with SciFi Japan, the future of Gamera all hinges on this show. So let's hope that he delivers on his promise. Gamera: Rebirth now has a release date for September 7th.
You can watch the trailer by clicking here.
Two New Monsterverse Graphic Novels:
Just as any Monsterverse movie coming out, there is always a graphic novel or two that leads into the events of the movie. At SDCC, we got our first look at the two new graphic novels that will release alongside Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire. Those graphic novels are Godzilla X Kong: The Hunted and Monsterverse Declassified.
In Godzilla X Kong: The Hunted, we get our first look at the first couple of panels that shows Kong exploring his new home in the Hollow Earth. He comes across a waterfall and decides to get a drink of water until he is jumped by a jaguar looking monster and Kong deals with them swiftly. The graphic novel is slated to release on February 27, 2024.
As for Monsterverse Declassified, this graphic novel delves deeper into the lore of the other Titans in the Monsterverse. Titans such as Behemoth, Tiamat, Doug, Scylla, and Abaddon will be given the spotlight and their time to shine. There is no release date for this graphic novel yet, but we get our first look at a more in-depth story as to how Behemoth got into a fight with the destroyer Titan Amhuluk and how Tiamat began its reign of terror.
I always saw these graphic novels as only being lite-canon. It's canon to the Monsterverse lore, but the movies don't reference any of the graphic novels in any detail. I just wish the movies would implement some references from the graphic novel so then reading them would not feel like they weren't necessary. On the other hand, MONARCH: Legacy of Monsters will have scenes that take place in the 50's, which may or may not be referencing Godzilla: Awakening especially with Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell rumored to play young and old Shaw from the graphic novel. If it is all true, then we may see more graphic novels get referenced in live action format and hopefully more so in Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this is the case.
The Justice League And The Monsterverse Clash In All New Mini-Series:
Finally, the moment all of you are here for and I know you clicked the link specifically because of the thumbnail. You may have heard about it by now, but it is happening. Godzilla and Kong from the Monsterverse and the Justice League will clash in this seven part mini-comic series: The Justice League vs Godzilla vs Kong.
According to Entertainment Weekly, the seven part series is a separate continuity from the Monsterverse and DC comics. That is basically saying this comic is its own thing and has no effect on the stories from either series. There was only one time that Toho Co. had attempted to do a Batman vs Godzilla movie with Adam West as Batman, but the idea was canned. Now, not only will we finally get to see Batman try to fight Godzilla AND King Kong, so will other superheroes such as Superman, Green Lantern, Flash, Wonder Woman, and Hawk Girl getting their moment to shine and take on the iconic Titans. However, Godzilla and Kong are not the only monsters that will appear in this comic.
From one of the panels that was first previewed, we see the Legion of Doom running into a Skull Crawler before they ran into Kong. There is another one that seems to suggest Mechani-Kong showed to be disguised as Kong will also be in this comic. It could also be just Kong with mechanical upgrades, but there is no context of the situation other than a robot that is disguised like Kong is fighting Superman.
There will be two cover variants for the comic. The Jim Lee variant is the one with the Bat-Mech fighting Godzilla and the Dan Mora variant that has Godzilla, Kong, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman posing in a battle ready stance. Make sure to keep an eye out for either one of these cover variants once the first comic hits store shelves on October 17.
I want to know what you guys think. Did the second Gamera: Rebirth trailer make you excited for the anime? Will you be reading any of the two graphic novels or the DC vs Monsterverse comic book when they arrive? Leave a comment in the comments section of your thoughts on everything that was revealed at San Diego Comic-Con. Make sure to follow me on Facebook, Minds, MeWe, Gab, and TRUTH Social to stay up to date for more news, reviews, and discussions.