Godzilla's New Design?

Earlier this year it was announced that Legendary Pictures, the company behind 300 and The Dark Knight, was developing a new American remake of Godzilla with producers Dan Lin, Roy Lee and Brian Rogers. A director has yet to be announced, but I've heard that they are looking for a darker/more realistic take on the property. Could this be it?

Twitch has discovered a couple photos on Flick of a design model for Godzilla. Could this be the creature's new look for the new American Remake? The author WoGzilla left the following accompanying comment with one of the images:

"great detail :) I was told by a good friend in the movie biz. that this was one of the design's they were considering for the new 3D Godzila....! if you have new info on this movie, i would like to post it . thanks :)"

What do you think? Could this be real? How about the design of Godzilla?

I personally love it. I hope it is more than just fan art, but chances are it isn't real. The big reason is that it has been online all day, and Warner Bros/Legendary Pictures could have had them removed in minutes. Either way, I think it's cool enough to feature on the site and speculate what a new darker American remake of Godzilla might look like.

Here's the full press release from Legendary which was released earlier this year:

Burbank, CA – March 29, 2010 – Legendary Pictures announced today that they will develop and produce a new film based on Toho Company's famed GODZILLA character.  Through the terms of the agreement, Legendary Pictures has acquired the rights to produce a movie inspired by Toho's Godzilla, a franchise the Japanese company created and has nurtured for over fifty years.

Toho's GODZILLA franchise boasts one of the most widely recognized film creatures worldwide, resulting in a series of books, television programs, video games and more than 25 films worldwide.  Legendary intends to approach the film and its characters in the most authentic manner possible.  The company will, in the near future, announce a filmmaker to helm the film for an intended 2012 release. The film will fall under the company's co-production and co-financing deal with Warner Bros.  Toho will distribute the film in Japan.

"Godzilla is one of the world's most powerful pop culture icons, and we at Legendary are thrilled to be able to create a modern epic based on this long-loved Toho franchise," said Thomas Tull, Chairman and CEO of Legendary. "Our plans are to produce the Godzilla that we, as fans, would want to see.  We intend to do justice to those essential elements that have allowed this character to remain as pop-culturally relevant for as long as it has."

"Godzilla is a signature Japanese character which we have nurtured over the years. It is a great honor to reach an agreement with Legendary Pictures, the parent to many a blockbuster film, and we are delighted in rebooting the character together to realize its much anticipated return by fans from all over the world," comments Hideyuki Takai, President of Toho Co., Ltd. "We are anxious to find out where Godzilla's new stomping will take us."

"Godzilla is emblematic of the kind of branded, event films for which Warner Bros. and our partners at Legendary are best known. We have enjoyed a great deal of success together to date and this newest opportunity represents yet another chance for us to collaborate on a property that is very clearly in their wheelhouse," said Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group.

In addition to Legendary, producers on the new film will be Dan Lin, Roy Lee and Brian Rogers. Yoshimitsu Banno, Kenji Okuhira and Doug Davison will Executive Produce.