Ad-Supported Streaming Service Pluto Quietly Dropped The Godzilla Channel On New Year’s Day – The Birthdate Of Iconic Suit Actor Haruo Nakajima
In what can be considered a slap in the face, and fans are certainly taking it that way, the popular “free” ad-based content provider Pluto dumped a round-the-clock channel devoted to Godzilla movies this year.
RELATED: ‘Godzilla vs. Biollante’ Is Getting A 4K Restoration And Blu-ray Release From Criterion In 2025
Once 2024 gave way to 2025, the service that used to have ‘TV’ in its name like its major competitor Tubi ceased carrying The Godzilla Channel. YouTube followed suit and the last film shown was, rather appropriately, Godzilla: Final Wars.
Fans who remained fervent about the kaiju-based streamer offering, and glued to it, in the middle of December were shocked to wake up in January and find the channel gone in the span of a fortnight.
RELATED: Kaiju History: Godzilla Never Fought Gamera Because Toho Hated The Idea
An upset G-Fandom arguably has reason to mourn this loss as The Godzilla Channel was a dream come true. With a film from every era through the Millennium showing all day, every day, this channel had everything they wanted. The 1998 Sony Pictures remake even aired for the completists among them.
The dual significance of the date magnifies the dubiousness of the decision. Jan. 1st is not only New Year’s Day but also the birthday of Haruo Nakajima – the man who brought Godzilla to life, literally embodying the King of the Monsters, in the first Gojira (1954) and throughout those Showa installments.
Nakajima’s contributions to kaiju cinema (or Tokusatsu) extended well beyond Godzilla. He played King Kong in King Kong Escapes, one of the Gargantuas in The War of the Gargantuas, Rodan, a Mothra larva, and any character Toho required before he passed the torch to Kenpachiro Satsuma in the 1980s.
While it makes sense to start a new year fresh, the optics aren’t optimal when you pick the birthdate of Toho’s undisputed pioneer suit actor to enact change. There were multiple factors in making their movies, from the effects of Eiji Tsuburaya to the direction of Ishiro Honda, but minus one Nakajima there is no Godzilla physically.
Though the timing might just be coincidental, it still smells of cavalier disrespect. Saying that, the decision to suspend the channel can’t entirely be pinned on Toho, if at all, and seemingly no one is.
The prime suspect for causing it in the minds of some is Max. Warner Bros. Discovery’s platform became the home to most of the Godzilla filmography in the last few months including installments that were notoriously hard to come by.
Godzilla vs. Biollante, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, and for a brief window Godzilla 1985 have all called Max home since October. That’s along with the Showa entries which were previously free to watch on YouTube, Tubi, and elsewhere. WBD looks to be locking down whatever they can for their own sake.
Pluto still carries Godzilla movies from the late Heisei and Millennium periods. That hardly fills the void they created, but they can still boast about having TokuSHOUTsu in their lineup (fortunately for them).
READ NEXT: ‘Godzilla: King Of The Monsters‘ Star Kyle Chandler Is Cast As Hal Jordan In ‘Lanterns’
More About:Movie News
Read this Next
