Godzilla and the strict rules the monster must follow in all his stories

Godzilla is one of the most famous and long-lived monsters in cinema, with more than half a century of adventures behind him. The kaiju, which we recently saw in films such as ‘Godzilla Minus One’ (2023) or ‘Godzilla and Kong: The New Empire’ (2024), must follow very strict rules imposed by its creators so that the brand’s reputation does not suffer. These strict rules include requirements that the King of the Monsters cannot die and cannot behave like a predator by feeding on humans or other creatures.

The strict rules that Godzilla must follow in all his works, according to his creators

Godzilla is owned by the Japanese production company Toho, which financed the first film in the long-running saga, released in 1954. In a recent interview with Livedoor, Tetsuya Yoshikawa, director of the Japanese company’s “Godzilla Room” revealed some of the rules his most famous character must follow at all costs.

This “Godzilla Room” established in 2016 after the release of Shin Godzilla, is a committee of high-ranking Toho employees who come to a consensus on what the character can and cannot do in every film he appears, to protect the brand’s reputation. Roughly speaking, Godzilla never dies and cannot do anything that would be considered the work of a villain or a fierce monster just following his instincts, such as eating people or animals.

According to Yoshikawa, these strict impositions also allow for some continuity between the way the kaiju is portrayed in Hollywood films and those released in Japan. The Toho executive says these rules have been strictly adhered to in the two most recent films about the character: ‘Godzilla Minus One,’ a Japanese production in 2023, and ‘Godzilla and Kong: The New Empire,’ an American film in 2024.

The origins of Godzilla: From movie monster to pop culture icon

The character as such was born in the 1954 movie of the same name, which told the story of how a gigantic reptile -Godzilla himself- appeared in post-war Japan and how the authorities had to stop it at all costs, fearing a nuclear holocaust.

In both the original film and many other incarnations of this creature, Godzilla is an amphibious reptile/dinosaur from prehistoric times, awakened in our time by exposure to nuclear radiation from nuclear weapons testing near where he was sleeping. The monster was born as an allegory for nuclear weapons, something embodied in its own origins. In his stories, he has fought with and against other kaiju, giant monsters of various origins, appearances, and abilities, such as Gigan, King Ghidorah, or Mothra.

The success of the first movie in 1954 led to the creation of a saga around the character of Godzilla. The so-called “King of the Monsters” has appeared in over thirty Toho-produced films, five American films, and numerous video games, comic books, novels, and television programs. The large number of works that make up his franchise and the numerous crossovers he has had over the years with other intellectual properties such as King Kong, Marvel, and DC Comics have only cemented his status as a pop culture icon that transcends his own stories.