Mothra vs. Bagan

The unused plot for Toho's 'Mothra vs. Bagan'

Story:

Long ago, in the ancient past, the terrible dragon beast Bagan stalked China. A living god, Bagan was the feared protector of the smaller creatures of the forest. Now only a legend documented in a centuries-old collection of Chinese poetry, prophecy foretells the return of this primordial dragon when evil rulers despoil the land.

Prophecy becomes reality. Global warming continues to ravage the earth. In the Himalayas, Bagan's ancient, glacial tomb cracks and melts away. The devil beast lives once more, one motivation filling his terrible form. To destroy those who have desecrated the earth. To destroy mankind.

Even as Bagan is freed from his tomb, in Borneo a mammoth egg is discovered. It soon hatches, revealing it to be the egg of Mothra, an ancient monster of peace left behind by an alien civilization to safeguard the world from Bagan's return. The two monsters are destined to battle one another, struggling for the very future of humanity. Across the Orient, from Singapore to Bangkok, to Bangladesh, the two great beasts battle, until only one remains.

History:

Following the filming of Godzilla vs Biollante, Kawakita and his team prepared to give Godzilla a rest, while continuing Toho's kaiju eiga by reviving another old monster and pitting her against an all new foe. In 1990, pre-production work began on a project titled 'Mothra vs Bagan'. Unlike most Japanese monster films, this story was to take place all across the Orient, with battles and events occuring in Thailand, Nepal, China, Malaysia and Indonesia. Several designs were submitted for the new devil beast Bagan (one of which later became the Ultraman foe Kilazee), and a number of storyboards were prepared, detailing much of the monster action. Unfortunately, Godzilla vs Biollante did not perform to Toho's expectations at the box office and it was decided not to gamble on reviving Mothra and creating an all new kaiju to face her. Instead, work began on Godzilla vs King Ghidorah. Several elements of this aborted script would later turn up in Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for the Earth, but one must wonder how this other, even more ambitious film might have been had it gone before the cameras.

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