Quentin Tarantino is one of the most instantly recognizable filmmakers in the industry and a defining cinematic voice of the last three decades, which he’s accomplished almost entirely through telling original stories, a rarity in the modern era where the franchise is king and recognizable properties are typically found at the top of any studio’s to-do list.
Of course, Jackie Brown was a loose adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch, and Tarantino has hardly been shy when it comes to homaging and either visually or narratively referencing his favorite movies, but he’s never been interested in tackling an existing brand. His R-rated Star Trek script is still somewhere out there in the ether, while at various points during his career he’s toyed with the likes of Luke Cage, Silver Surfer, Casino Royale and more, but that’s about as far as it’s gotten.
However, in a new interview, the Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs creator revealed his pitch for a Godzilla blockbuster, one that would turn the mythology on its head and establish the King of the Monsters as a deity.
“The whole idea of Godzilla’s role in Tokyo, where he’s always battling these other monsters, saving humanity time and again, wouldn’t Godzilla become god? It would be called Living Under The Rule Of Godzilla. This is what society is like when a big f*cking green lizard rules your world.”
It’s certainly an interesting approach to the material when you consider the big guy is generally viewed as a little bit of a nuisance given the sheer volume of catastrophic destruction and collateral damage he typically tends to leave in his wake, as the entire city of Hong Kong recently discovered in the MonsterVerse’s Godzilla vs. Kong.
Of course, Warner Bros. and Legendary’s shared universe is set to continue with Adam Wingard entering talks to return for the next chapter, but you’d imagine the higher ups would love to get their hands on a Tarantino-scripted Godzilla movie if the opportunity ever arose.