Zilla (Toho)
| Zilla (TriStar Godzilla) | |
|---|---|
| Godzilla film series character | |
 |
|
| First appearance | Godzilla (as Godzilla) |
| Last appearance | Godzilla: Final Wars (as Zilla) |
| Created by | Dean Devlin, Roland Emmerich and Patrick Tatopoulos |
| Portrayed by | Kurt Carley |
| Aliases | Godzilla Godzilla-USA |
Zilla (ジラ Jira?) is a film monster that first appeared as the title character in TriStar Pictures' 1998 film Godzilla. It was initially created as a reimagining of Godzilla; however after 2004, Toho (the Godzilla IP owners) began trademarking future incarnations of TriStar's Godzilla as "Zilla", with only the incarnations from the 1998 film and Godzilla: The Series retaining the Godzilla copyright and trademark.
Initially, during production of Godzilla: Final Wars, director Ryuhei Kitamura asked producer Shōgo Tomiyama whether or not they were allowed to include TriStar's Godzilla in the film, whereupon Tomiyama checked Toho's contract with Sony and saw they were allowed to use it. However, they titled their new incarnation of TriStar's Godzilla as "Zilla" for its appearance in Godzilla: Final Wars. This decision was made because they also felt that Emmerich's film had taken the "God" out of "Godzilla" by portraying the character as a mere animal. The name "Zilla" was chosen for the character by Tomiyama as a satirical take on counterfeit Godzilla products that use "Zilla" as a suffix.
The "Zilla" name has since been trademarked by Toho and this name change has been reflected in subsequent official products featuring the character since its official retcon in 2004, though "Godzilla" continues to be used as a title on products that predate the name change, such as any re-release of the 1998 film or Godzilla: The Series. Matt Frank (co-writer and illustrator of Godzilla: Rulers of Earth) further clarified the name change, stating, "Toho makes zero distinction between "Zilla" and "Godzilla 1998" with the exception of title alone. Ever since 2004, Toho's official stance has been that any future incarnations of the character be referred to hereafter as 'Zilla'." Keith Aiken (author of SciFi Japan) also clarified that "Zilla is a variation of the 1998 Godzilla" but stressed that only the incarnations from the 1998 film and the animated series retain the Godzilla copyright and trademark.
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Wikipedia