This film featured the debut of the space monster Gigan, and was the twelfth in the franchise. Originally envisioned as a film pitting three original monsters against three pre-existing beasts, it was eventually whittled down to Gigan and the returning King Ghidorah against Godzilla and Anguirus due to budget constraints. Jun Fukuda directed the film, his third addition to the franchise, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano. The Japanese theatrical debut of the movie was in 1972 while the American theatrical release followed in 1978. This was Haruo Nakajima's last time portraying Godzilla.
