Back in November, Fathom Events featured Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla just for Godzilla Day. This was to celebrate Godzilla's 68th Anniversary and it was only for that one day. On that same day, the Godzilla short film Godzilla vs Gigan Rex premiered online and at Godzilla-Fest. The short film was a direct sequel to Gemstone's other short film G vs G as to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the film Godzilla vs Gigan. In a recent development, it appears that Fathom Events is planning to show a double feature of Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. and Godzilla vs Gigan Rex according to a listing on Cinemark.
The description for Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. reads:
"Mothra's twin fairies appear with a warning to Japan... Kiryu (aka Mechagodzilla) must be put to rest at the bottom of the ocean or face the wrath of Mothra. When Godzilla returns once again, will humanity heed the warning or will Kiryu be forced to fight against two monsters? Added value includes a special G-fest 2022 sequel to "G vs. G" (2019), hordes of Gigans have returned to attack the earth, this time with their leader, a red-colored Gigan called "Gigan Rex." Will Godzilla be able to defeat this new foe? Or will Gigan Rex, with its outstanding fighting ability, reign over all?"
What I find interesting is not the double feature itself, but a fan film is getting a theatrical release. When you look back previous fan films and how Toho treated them, it looks like Toho Co. is considering to be more open with the Godzilla property.
I have seen a lot of people look at Godzilla Heritage as an example of Toho not being fair, but if you have followed the development of the fan-film Toho Co. has been more than fair. They allowed the production of the film to continue, but they were given some restrictions such as not having Godzilla's name in the title, can't be more than 50 minutes long, and it has to be non-profit and can't be sold on any physical medium. It is a shame of what the final results turned out to be, but Toho didn't tell the crew of Godzilla Heritage they were not allowed to make their film as how many people claimed.
Godzilla vs Gigan Rex was also a cooperative project between Gemstone and Toho Co. making the short film an officially licensed fan-film distributed by Toho Co. It even got official toy merchandise released the same day. So imagine what Toho Co. could do now if they decide to do this with other fan projects. Imagine they see a fan project getting a lot of attention and contact the production crew of the fan film offering to lend some guidance in exchange to license it to make toys based on the fan film. That is actually quite the deal for both Godzilla fans and those that want to make it into the film industry and for Toho Co. Will this be a thing for every fan film? No, it won't. Toho Co. will not do this for every fan film. However, if they like your idea and how much work put in to the project or want to give some guidance on how to make your film then they may consider contacting you like they have done for Gemstone and for the crew of Godzilla Heritage.
Also to consider is that this November marks Godzilla's 69th Anniversary and Toho Co. has stated that they plan on doing a march to the 70th Anniversary for the 69th Anniversary. I don't know if this is part of that march to the 70th, but it would seem to be too early to start that march to 70 when this double feature is releasing in March. Maybe this double feature is just for fun. All I do know is that this year is going to be an exciting year for kaiju fans.
Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S./Godzilla vs Gigan Rex is dated to release on March 22, 2023 according to Cinemark. Will you be going to see this double feature? How do you feel about Toho Co. being more lenient with fan films? Let me know in the comments section of your thoughts on the double feature release and Toho Co. being open to working with fans and fan films. Make sure to follow me on Facebook, Minds, MeWe, Gab, and TRUTH Social to stay up to date for more news, reviews, and discussions.