New ‘Godzilla’ to Show More of Maternal Nature?

Is Godzilla facing a midlife crisis? Sources say the fire-breathing lizard, who debuted in Japan 44 years ago, has evolved into an egg-laying male/female hybrid in the new “Godzilla,” set to open Memorial Day weekend.

No one connected with the film or its studio, Sony, will officially confirm that Godzilla has gotten in touch with both his masculine and feminine sides. A call to Sony elicited a strict “no comment” on the part of the studio and the filmmakers.

The new “Godzilla” has been highly anticipated for months and has been shrouded in secrecy by the filmmakers (Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, who brought you “Independence Day”). There’s been rampant speculation on the beast and the plot on the Internet; a recent Wall Street Journal article detailed the lengths to which the producers have gone to keep Godzilla’s new “futuristic” look a secret. Devlin and Emmerich claim to have cut off licensees who leaked renderings of the overhauled beast to the public.

But two sources who have seen portions of the movie say that the monster lays more eggs in Madison Square Garden than the Knicks in a playoff game. In classic Hollywood fashion, the eggs will no doubt hatch sequels and spinoffs, such as an animated TV series.

This wouldn’t be the first time Godzilla has been given a strong maternal side. In 1967’s “Son of Godzilla,” many think doting parent Godzilla comes across somewhat feminine. Baby Godzilla has appeared in several other movies, including 1969’s “Godzilla’s Revenge,” marking Godzilla’s transition from villain to antihero to warm and fuzzy good guy.

“Godzilla got closer to Barney by the ‘70s than many people remember. He wasn’t just appealing to kids, but to little kids,” comments Michael Weldon, whose Psychotronic Video Magazine and Psychotronic Video Guide follow classic and not-so-classic monster movies.

Godzilla wouldn’t be the first female monster; she’d follow in the footsteps of the ones in such films as “Gorgo” and “Aliens.” In any case, Weldon moviegoers aren’t likely to be turned off by a Godzilla gender-bender.

“I’d guess that most of the audience [the new movie will attract] weren’t even born yet when the ‘Godzilla’ movies were in their heyday,” Weldon said. “As a matter of fact, a lot of the audience probably wasn’t born when ‘Godzilla 1985’ [the last Godzilla movie to gain release in U.S. theaters] came out.”

Now, that’s scary.