Godzilla Stomps Onto Blu-Ray This September

By David Wharton | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

GodMetalIt’s been a great year for Godzilla. The big guy found massive box office success with director Gareth Edwards’ gritty reboot, raking in half a billion dollars worldwide and further burying the memory of Roland Emmerich’s excretory 1998 version. And while Godzilla is one of those movies that demands to be seen on the big screen, I’m sure any die-hard fan of the classic Toho monster will want to add the flick to their collection. You’ll be able to do just that when Godzilla stomps his way onto Blu-ray and DVD this September.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Legendary Entertainment have announced that Godzilla will emerge from the sea and into your living room on September 16. It’ll be getting the standard cross-platform release, with fans able to choose from a 3D Blu-ray set, a regular Blu-ray combo pack, and a two-disc DVD set. If you’re the sort whose buying decisions can be easily swayed by bells and whistles that don’t actually add anything significant, you might want to opt for the limited-edition Godzilla Metalpak, which packages the Blu-ray combo pack inside a case with exclusive embossed artwork and a snazzy button you can press to hear Godzilla’s roar.

The really good news is that all the different version of the Godzilla release will include the full span of special features. That’s damned refreshing in this era when a dozen different variants and retailer exclusives are the order of the day. You mean I can just buy the movie for whichever platform I prefer and I’ll still get all the goodies? What a concept!

And speaking of bonus features, here’s what you have to look forward to:

  • MONARCH: Declassified – Discover explosive new evidence not contained in the film that unravels the massive cover-up to keep Godzilla’s existence a secret.
  • Operation: Lucky Dragon
  • MONARCH: The M.U.T.O. File
  • The Godzilla Revelation
  • The Legendary Godzilla – Go behind the scenes with filmmakers and cast for an even deeper look at the larger than life monsters in the film.
  • Godzilla: Force of Nature
  • A Whole New Level of Destruction
  • Into the Void: The H.A.L.O. Jump
  • Ancient Enemy: The M.U.T.O.s

We already knew that director Gareth Edwards would be returning for a Godzilla sequel a few years down the line (once he finishes with that little Star Wars side project he’s got going), and only this week at Comic-Con they announced that Godzilla 2 will be introducing even more iconic Toho monsters, including Mothra, Rodan, and Ghidorah. That’s kind of insane, and I’m hoping they don’t fall prey to the “too many villains” syndrome that has crippled many a sequel over the years. Any one of those would make a worthy adversary for Godzilla, but all three at once? It made sense to introduce new monsters in the first one, that way Godzilla was the clear marquee star without having to compete with other familiar faces. Bringing Mothra or others in for the sequel seems like a no-brainer, but I’m worried this might be trying to do too much for the sequel.

I’ll also be curious to see how Mothra and the rest fit into the new Godzilla mythology. In the movie, both the title character and the so-called “M.U.T.O.s” were pre-existing creatures from an ancient era who had been reawoken. Much was made of Godzilla being an “alpha predator” that evolved to take down these massive creatures and keep nature in balance. Will Mothra, Rodan, and Ghidorah be similar ancient creatures? Or could one or all of them be the result of scientists playing god in the aftermath of the events of Godzilla? That would certainly work from a thematic standpoint.

Gareth Edwards’ Star Wars spinoff isn’t scheduled to hit theaters until December 16, 2016, so it’ll be a while before Godzilla’s next adventure is on screens. In the meantime, at least you’ll be able to relive the first movie in the comfort of your own home.

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