We're In For A Monstrous Treat: Anime 'Godzilla' Releases Artwork And Cast List!

With not a skyscraper or Tokyo backdrop in sight, it looks like that hotly anticipated #Godzilla anime film is rearing from the depths of prehistoric hell. Late last year it was reported that Japanese studio #PolygonPictures would team up with movie #monster moguls #Toho to take on the mammoth task of making Godzilla's first anime outing — and now we have our first look at what they have been cooking up.

The website Godzilla-anime.com suddenly became alive with news after being relatively quiet since the film was announced in August. The site not only released the names of six of the voice cast (but not who they would be playing), it also gifted us a look at the mysterious "Old Tanzawa," presumably part of the Tanzawa mountains in the Kanagawa Prefecture, and where the scaly beast is lurking. Does anyone else get an Alien: Covenant/Star Wars vibe? No other info was available, but with some serious tech on hand, it looks like some sort of militarized unit will go on a doomed hunting mission.

Cartoons Aren't Just For Kids

2017's anime film will mark the 32nd film in the Godzilla franchise, and the 30th produced by Toho. The studio first released Godzilla in 1954, and has since gone on to keep a tight leash on the rights to Godzilla, apart from the two Hollywood versions in 1998 and 2014. While there has never been an animated feature film starring the giant dino in its 62-year history, the idea comes off the back of an already successful studio and a "resurgence" in interest for Godzilla.

Last year's Godzilla: Resurgence (a.k.a. Shin Godzilla) earned $75 million to became the second-highest grossing movie in Japan in 2016. It out-grossed Hollywood blockbusters like Finding Dory, Zootopia, and even Fantastic Beasts. To put it into context, Resurgence made over double what Gareth Edwards's 2014 blockbuster version did, which managed only $31.6 in Japan. Clearly interest is at an all-time high with Godzilla, and an all-star cast of Yuki Kaji, Takahiro Sakurai, Tomokazu Sugita, Junichi Suwabe, Kana Hanazawa, and Mamoru Miyano also looks promising. If anyone is going to make a great Godzilla anime, it is clearly a Polygon/Toho alliance.

Battle Of The Beasts

Sadly, with only the title card and one other picture to go on, Godzilla remains as mysterious as its backdrop. It is also likely no coincidence that the first images also look rather #SkullIsland-esque, which could have something to do with the planned shared universe of Godzilla and #KingKong. If the two behemoths ever did lock horns, it would most likely be on a faraway island rather than the streets of NYC. Look what happened when we took T-Rexes to San Diego in The Lost World, or Matthew Broderick to New York with Roland Emmerich's Godzilla.

#WarnerBros. has scheduled a Godzilla vs. King Kong movie for 2020, which will directly tie into Skull Island, but here's hoping that if Godzilla 2017 is a success, we won't have to wait as long for an animated version of Beasty Battle Royale. You will be able to find out more about Polygon's animated outing after AnimeJapan 2017 on March 26. The six main cast members will appear and we will likely get a trailer, or at least some more images. If Godzilla can live up to the current anime hype, then we are sure to be in for one hell of an adventure, and something to rival Skull Island — there is only room for one king, and it might not be Kong!