What Could Have Been: King Kong vs. Godzilla 2 (The Unmade 1963 Sequel) | Godzilla Island Archive

Note: This article is from 2013's godzillaisland.com and has some updates to it since we have since got a King Kong vs Godzilla rematch.

The Plot

The proposed sequel to King Kong vs. Godzilla would have brought the two titans back for another colossal battle. And… that’s about it. The project never got far enough to develop a full story or script just a basic concept: Kong and Godzilla meet again for round two.

My Thoughts

Since there’s not much of a plot to go on, I’ll focus on the idea of a sequel and why it’s such an interesting “what if.” I wanted to cover this film since I just reviewed King Kong vs. SpaceGodzilla in the Kaiju War Chronicles yesterday it felt like a fitting follow-up.

Even though this project never went past the proposal stage, it’s easy to see why Toho wanted a sequel. Adjusted for inflation, the original King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) would still rank as the highest-grossing Godzilla movie ever made. That kind of success naturally makes studios think, “Let’s do it again!”

The proposed title, “Continuation: King Kong vs. Godzilla,” probably could’ve used a little polishing obviously it was a pre-production title, something like King Kong vs. Godzilla 2 would’ve even worked better. But the real excitement lies in what the movie could have been.

Like many fans, I’ve always had strong feelings about the 1962 film’s ending. To me, Godzilla was the true winner of that battle, even if Toho played it off as a draw (or even a win for Kong). Godzilla dominated most of the fight the ambiguous ending just left everyone debating it for decades.

A sequel could have settled that once and for all giving us a clear winner and maybe even evolving both monsters in new directions.

So while “Continuation: King Kong vs. Godzilla” (1963) never became a reality, the dream of a rematch lived on and eventually came true decades later with Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

We may never know what Toho’s 1963 sequel would’ve looked like, but the idea still sparks the imagination. Would Kong have gotten a power-up again like lightning abilities? Would Godzilla have finally been declared the victor? Either way, the legacy of King Kong vs. Godzilla lives on in the MonsterVerse inspiring rematches, reboots, and endless debates among kaiju fans.

Until next time thanks for reading and stay tuned for more Kaiju “What Could Have Been” articles!