Editing Destroy All Monsters (section)

===Writing===
Special effects director Sadamasa Arikawa noted that Toho were going to potentially end the ''Godzilla'' series as "Producer Tanaka figured that all the ideas had just run out."{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=145}}{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=146}} Several sources attest that the film was announced alongside ''Son of Godzilla'', possibly as a competing project.

The film was written by [[Takeshi Kimura]] and [[Ishirō Honda]], making it the first ''Godzilla'' film since ''[[Godzilla Raids Again]]'' not written by [[Shinichi Sekizawa]].{{sfn|Kalat|1997|p=98}} Takeshi Kimura is credited by his pen name Kaoru Mabuchi in the film's credits.{{sfn|Ryfle|1998|p=146}} Kimura and Honda's script developed the concept of Monsterland (referred to as Monster Island in future films).{{sfn|Kalat|1997|p=98}}

The earliest screenplay, written by Kimura in 1967, was titled ''Monster Chushingura'' (怪獣忠臣蔵, Kaiju Chūshingura). (The word ''[[chushingura]]'' refers to a famous historical story in Japan about the [[Forty-seven rōnin|rebellion of 47 samurai]] who took revenge after their master was unjustly forced to commit suicide).{{sfn|Ryfle|Godziszewski|2011|loc=00:01:23}} Supposedly, in this version, every monster in Toho's arsenal was to be included, even King Kong, Sanda, and Gaira. In an interview with David Miller, Ishiro Honda even said “the original idea was to show all of the monsters.”

The first initial screenplay, preliminary titled ''Monster Total Advancement Order'' (怪獣総進撃命令, Kaijū Sōshingeki Meirei), by Takashi Kamura (as Kaoru Mabuchi) was submitted on November 22, 1967, and included a confirmed roster of Godzilla, Mothra (larva), King Ghidorah, Rodan, Baragon, Varan, Kumonga, Manda, Maguma, and Ebirah. Everything plays out just as in the finished film except that Maguma and Baragon guard the Kilaak base and Baragon actually attacks Paris. Also, in this iteration, Varan and Rodan work in tandem to attack Ghidorah in the final battle.

When it was decided to adapt ''Two Godzillas!: Japan SOS'' (an earlier version of ''[[Son of Godzilla]]'') instead, the script was shelved for next year. By then the rights to Kong had expired. Honda also wanted to show lunar colonies and brand new hybrid monsters, the results of interbreeding and genetic splicing. He planned to delve more deeply into undersea farming to feed the monsters, but because of budget constraints this was not included. In later scripts, the number of monsters was cut as well.