Godzilla is arguably one of the most iconic creature designs in cinematic history, but what’s the story behind his legendary look? As the lore goes, we know roughly that the big scaly fellow is a prehistoric predator, but it turns out that his appearance is a little more curated than we might assume.
Palaeontologists, it’s time to place your bets – which dinosaurs helped to inspire Godzilla’s classic character design? From his humble practical effect beginnings to his current CGI character design, Godzilla has seen countless iterations – here are the big three dinosaur species that inspired his iconic design.
(Image credit: Toho)
The inspiration behind the design was revealed by William Tsutsui in his book Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters – a humorous deep dive into the creature’s cinematic legacy. It’s a legacy so impactful in fact, that there’s even a real dinosaur species named after Godzilla: the Gojirasaurus, meaning “Godzilla lizard”.
The first and most obvious design inspiration comes from the Tyrannosaurus rex. With a ferocious attitude and an iconic status all of its own, Godzilla’s design takes cues from the T. Rex’s upright posture and fierce apex predator nature. Often considered the king of the dinosaurs, the T. Rex was a natural design inspiration, best reflected in Roland Emmerich’s controversial 1998 Godzilla film.
(Image credit: TriStar Pictures)
A more unexpected design detail comes from the Stegosaurus. This spiny herbivore was the inspiration for the menacing-looking spine plates that run across Godzilla’s back. While on the fictional monster, the spines create a fearsome look, the Stegosaurus’ plates were predominantly an organic defence mechanism. Godzilla’s spines are an integral feature but designers have naturally taken some liberties throughout his various iterations, giving him a more jagged and threatening appearance in comparison to the humble Stegosaurus.
The final inspiration comes from the Iguanadon – another herbivorous dinosaur species hailing from the Cretaceous era. Like the mighty T. Rex, these prehistoric beasts helped to inspire Godzilla’s movement. Fossils suggest that the Iguanadon could walk bipedally and a look at its claws shows similarities to Godzilla’s design. Think of the Iguanadon as Godzilla’s friendly plant-eating cousin.
2021 depiction of Godzilla in Adam Wingard’s Godzilla vs Kong. (Image credit: Legendary Pictures)
For more on the history of the king of monsters, check out our piece on the evolution of Godzilla – from 100kg suits to CGI effects. It’s not to say that everything is perfect in the Godzilla cinematic universe. You might not have noticed but there’s a hilarious character design flaw that keeps cropping up even after all this time.
