...I am of course, talking about Yoshimitsu Banno, the director of Godzilla vs Hedorah (1971) [also known as Godzilla vs The Smog Monster outside of Japan], which was the 11th film in the Showa Era of Godzilla films (1954-1975), and who was the co-producer of Legendary Pictures' Godzilla (2014), which was directed by Gareth Edwards after Mr. Banno's original Godzilla 3D to the Max concept film didn't come to light after it failed to meet it's intended 2009 release date.
This is truly a big deal for all Godzilla fans everywhere, both in Japan and the world at large.
And one thing I am definitely wondering at this point, is what will happen to the plans that Mr. Banno made when he intended his Godzilla 3D film to be a sequel to Godzilla vs Hedorah?
Now granted, while Godzilla vs Hedorah didn't exactly flow well with the common, movie-going audiences outside of Japan [seriously, this movie is a combination of children's imagination, grindhouse horror, scat humor, 70s psychedelic exploitation, and... Godzilla), the Big G fans still enjoyed this film for what it's worth...
...even if you have to be stoned out of your mind to understand what the hell they were thinking when they made that movie.
Anyway, this guy's passing will surely be felt by all Godzilla fans everywhere.
Rest in peace, Yoshimitsu Banno (1931-2017).
