Put Akira Takarada back into Legendary's Godzilla!

  • by: J.D. Lees
  • recipient: Gareth Edwards at Legendary Pictures

Thanks to the support of Godzilla fans around the world, Akira Takarada was included (in a cameo role) in the upcoming Legendary Godzilla movie. At the eleventh hour, his scene has reportedly been cut from the film. Please sign this petition asking director Gareth Edwards to restore Mr. Takarada's scene to the finished film.

Sixty years ago, Mr. Takarada starred in the original Godzilla. Over the years, he has starred in several other Godzilla movies, and has been a great promoter of the character and the franchise. He calls Godzilla "my classmate", because the original Godzilla movie launched both of their careers. Mr. Takarada has been a staunch friend of western G-fans, and is known as "the godfather of G-FEST" (the annual Godzilla convention in Chicago).

Western fans asked Legendary to include Mr. Takarada as a thank you for his support and friendship. We were thrilled when our request was accepted, but now we are terribly unhappy at this last minute reversal. Mr. Takarada's presence in the new film is a vital cultural link that helps legitimize Legendary's movie, connecting it to the original series. He has more than earned the honor of appearing in the new Godzilla. This petition respectfully asks Gareth Edwards and Legendary Pictures to reverse their decision and restore Mr. Takarada's scene to the movie, so that he can be honored and appreciated by his millions of fans around the world.

Dear Mr. Edwards,


When G-fans learned of the decision to cut Mr. Akira Takarada's scene from the upcoming Godzilla movie, I created an on-line petition asking for his scene to be reinstated.

Mr. Takarada is a good friend to Godzilla's fans here in the west. He has done many kindnesses for us, and is known as "the godfather of G-FEST." In return, we tried to do something nice for him, and mounted a campaign for him to be included in the picture. Until late April, we thought we had been successful, and were grateful to you and Legendary for listening to the fans.

As you can imagine, the recent news has been a great disappointment to us all, and I know it has been pretty devastating to Mr. Takarada. In just a few days, we reached our goal of 1000 signatures to the petition. I'm forwarding it to you through the contacts I know at Legendary. Thanks for taking the time to read it and consider it.



Sincerely,

J.D. Lees

Update #19 years ago
Thank you to everyone who supported our friend, Mr. Akira Takarada. We surpassed our goal of 1000 signatures in just over a week! Whether or not it has any effect, we've shown Takarada-san that his fans are there for him. I know he appreciates our efforts, and in a time of disappointment, we've given him comfort. Legendary is aware of our petition, but I will also send it to them. I hope they'll listen to Godzilla's fans and keep their promise to include Takarada-san. Thanks again. - J.D. Lees
Sign Petition
Sign Petition
You have JavaScript disabled. Without it, our site might not function properly.

Privacy Policy

By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.

Having problems signing this? Let us know.