Godzilla: 20 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know
19. Godzilla's Original Look Was Very Different
The story of Godzilla was devised to show the chaos created by testing with nuclear energy and radiation. Godzilla symbolises the death that was caused in World War II after two nuclear bombs were dropped on Japan. To emphasise this point, Godzilla was going to have a mushroom-shaped head to reference the mushroom clouds created from atomic blasts.
The special effects designer, Eiji Tsuburaya, wanted Godzilla to be an octopus. (Interestingly, a film about a giant octopus called It Came From Beneath the Sea came out the following year).
One producer wanted the monster to look like a fusion of a gorilla and a whale. Although the filmmakers didn't go in this direction, they combined the Japanese words for "gorilla" and "whale" into "Godzilla", and thought it was the perfect name for their monster.
After they saw the success of the 1953 film, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, which revolves around a giant dinosaur, the filmmakers of Godzilla decided to make their monster resemble a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Before they settled on a name, Godzilla was going to be called Anguirus. This name was repurposed for the monster that Godzilla battles in the first sequel.