The Glass trailer was fantastic, the teaser for Shazam! was a delight and Aquaman's trailer introduced us to a majestic underwater world. But for my money, easily the best trailer of this year's San Diego Comic-Con was for Godzilla: King of the Monsters. The intense and epic trailer showcased a titan battle royal that delivers on the potential of these classic movie monsters that have been around for over half a century. Seemingly in acknowledgement of that storied history originating with Toho's Japanese films, someone has recut the trailer for Godzilla: King of the Monsters to look like the original movies, and it is awesome. Check it out below:
Someone at Warner Bros. needs to take a look at the above video, because this is another great way to market this movie: play into the history of the original films. Although there is already some fun viral marketing going on. What's so cool is how much this recut makes the Godzilla: King of the Monsters trailer look like it was released in 1964. Sure you can tell that the CGI is well beyond that age and these are modern actors, but everything else about this trailer would fit right in with one of those original movies. The desaturated video that looks as though you are viewing the trailer through tissue paper, and with the fuzzy audio thrown in, it makes this look like a cheap and cheesy product of its time. The title cards and music are also a nice touch.
A less noticeable element of this trailer that really helps make it look like one of the original films is how it is recut to be more in line with the pacing of movie trailers of that time period. It has a slower pace and isn't quite as intense and quick as we are used to in modern trailers, including the one for Godzilla: King of the Monsters. This trailer is quite skillfully done in how it takes a cue from the past and manipulates the new trailer to fit echo that past. It also shows you how different a movie about rampaging monsters was marketed then versus now. You won't find the kind of singing you hear in this trailer in any modern film about apocalyptic events.
The audio seems to have been taken from the Japanese theatrical trailer for the 1964 film Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, but the title cards look to be different and must have been made specifically for this trailer. You can check out the trailer for Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster below to compare and see the inspiration:
Godzilla: King of the Monsters roars into theaters on May 31, 2019. You can probably rewatch all of the old Godzilla movies before then if you're so inclined, and you can also check out some new movies hitting theaters this year in our premiere guide. For all the latest on Godzilla: King of the Monsters and why kaiju destroying cities is an evergreen movie concept, stay tuned to CinemaBlend.
