Key Godzilla: King of the Monsters Plot Element Inspired by Star Trek

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

If you haven’t yet seen Godzilla: King of the Monsters, then look away now. Then spend at least five minutes hanging your head in shame, then go watch it, then come back. Please?

A piece from SyfyWire this week revealed that in the film’s commentary, director Michael Dougherty cited Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan as a significant influence on a pivotal character’s motivation. Dougherty said, “There’s a scene in that film where they explain how the Genesis Device works. And the Genesis Device could take a lifeless planet and create a whole new ecosystem on a planet or a moon. I just love the idea that these giant monsters don’t just destroy things, but in the aftermath of their destruction, they could cause nature to reclaim an environment.”

It isn’t just Dougherty who found inspiration for Godzilla from Star Trek: back in May, SyfyWire also ran an interview with production designer Scott Chambliss. At the time, Chambliss likened Godzilla to his previous work on Star Trek (2009). When asked about the creative process of designing the monsters and sets for Godzilla, he said: “It was kind of like when J.J. [Abrams] and I were approaching Star Trek [...] The Starship Enterprise, of course, was the big icon of the show. We had to take that seriously in terms of what it represented, but that didn't in any way mean that we had to reproduce it literally or just tweak it a little bit and send it off again.”

SyfyWire in this week’s article also notes that Godzilla: King of the Monsters drew inspiration from a number of other classic science fiction works, including Jaws, The Thing, and even Conan the Barbarian.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is due to be released on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD today.