Strange travelers from the 23rd century warn Japanese authorities that Godzilla will return and destroy them all.
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (ゴジラvsキングギドラ, Gojira tai Kingu Gidora) is a 1991 Japanese kaiju film written and directed by Kazuki Ōmori and produced by Shōgo Tomiyama. The film, produced and distributed by Toho Studios, is the 18th film in the Godzilla franchise, and is the third film in the franchise’s Heisei period. The film features the fictional monster characters Godzilla and King Ghidorah, and stars Kōsuke Toyohara, Anna Nakagawa, Megumi Odaka, Katsuhiko Sasaki, Akiji Kobayashi, Yoshio Tsuchiya, and Robert Scott Field.
The production crew of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah remained largely unchanged from that of the previous film in the series, Godzilla vs. Biollante. Because the previous installment was a box office disappointment, due to a lack of child viewership and alleged competition with the Back to the Future franchise, the producers of Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah were compelled to create a film with more fantasy elements, along with time travel.
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah was the first Godzilla film since 1975’s Terror of Mechagodzilla to feature a newly orchestrated score by Akira Ifukube. The film was released theatrically in Japan on December 14, 1991, and was followed by Godzilla vs. Mothra the following year. It was released direct-to-video in North America in 1998 by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. Though Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah was more financially successful than Godzilla vs. Biollante, the film became somewhat controversial in the United States as a result of perceived anti-Americanism stemming from a scene where Godzilla kills several American soldiers.