Editing Godzilla vs. Biollante (section)

===Pre-production===
{{Quote box |quote=The original idea was to find something that could match Godzilla's power and terror if we were bringing back Godzilla. But simply letting the monsters fight each other had been done many times and, clearly, there was a limit to it. So in order to bring back Godzilla properly we had to create an opponent that can fight properly. If there was something equivalent to the terror of nuclear power it must be the bio-technology [with] which human beings would manipulate life, because it can be very dangerous if it goes the wrong way, ethically, I guess. That's where I found the connection, so the idea of a monster [that] was created by biotechnology was born. |source=—Shinichiro Kobayashi<ref name="makingofDVD">"Making of Godzilla vs. Biollante", Godzilla vs Biollante [DVD] Echo Bridge (2012)</ref> |bgcolor=#c6dbf7 |salign=right |width=40%}}

[[Tomoyuki Tanaka]] announced a sequel to ''[[The Return of Godzilla]]'' in 1985, but was skeptical of its possibilities, as the film had been of little financial benefit to [[Toho]], and the failure of ''[[King Kong Lives]]'' following year convinced him that audiences were not ready for a continuation of the ''Godzilla'' series. He relented after the success of ''[[Little Shop of Horrors (1986 film)|Little Shop of Horrors]]'', and proceeded to hold a public story-writing contest for a possible script.<ref name="kalat2010">Kalat, D. (2010), ''A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series'', McFarland, p. 169-78, {{ISBN|978-0-7864-47-49-7}}</ref> In consideration of ''The Return of Godzilla'''s marginal success in Japan, Tanaka insisted that the story focus on a classic monster vs. monster theme.<ref name="ryfle1998">{{cite book |title=Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of the Big G |last=Ryfle |first=S. |year=1998 |publisher=Toronto: ECW Press |isbn=1550223488 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/japansfavoritemo0000ryfl/page/251 251–58] |url=https://archive.org/details/japansfavoritemo0000ryfl/page/251 }}</ref> Tanaka handed the five finalist entries to director [[Kazuki Ōmori]], despite the two's initially hostile relationship; the latter had previously held Tanaka responsible for the decline in the ''Godzilla'' series' quality during the 1970s. Ōmori chose the entry of dentist Shinichiro Kobayashi, who wrote his story with the hypothetical death of his daughter in mind.<ref name="kalat2010"/>

Kobayashi's submission was notable for its emphasis on dilemmas concerning biotechnology rather than nuclear energy, and revolved around a scientist grieving for his deceased daughter and attempting to keep her soul alive by merging her genes with those of a plant. The scientist's initial experiments would have resulted in the creation of a giant rat-like amphibian called Deutalios, which would have landed in Tokyo Bay and been killed by Godzilla. A female reporter investigating the scientist's activities would have suffered from psychic visions of plants with humanoid faces compelling her to infiltrate the scientist's laboratory. The scientist would have later confessed his intentions, and the finale would have had Godzilla battling a human-faced Biollante who defeats him by searing his flesh with acid.<ref name="ryfle19982">{{cite book |title=Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of the Big G |last=Ryfle |first=S. |year=1998 |publisher=Toronto: ECW Press |isbn=1550223488 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/japansfavoritemo0000ryfl/page/259 259–60] |url=https://archive.org/details/japansfavoritemo0000ryfl/page/259 }}</ref>

Ōmori proceeded to modify the story into a workable script over a period of three years, using his background as a biologist to create a plausible plot involving genetic engineering and botany.<ref name="kalat2010"/> In order to preserve the series' anti-nuclear message, he linked the creation of Biollante to the use of Godzilla cells, and replaced Kobayashi's journalist character with [[Miki Saegusa]].<ref name="ryfle1998"/> He openly admitted that directing a ''Godzilla'' film was secondary to his desire to make a [[James Bond]] movie, and thus added elements of the [[spy film]] genre into the plot.<ref name="kalat2010"/> Unlike the case with later, more committee-driven ''Godzilla'' films, Ōmori was given considerable leeway in writing and directing the film, which Toho staff later judged to have been an error resulting in a movie with a very narrow audience.<ref name="ryfle1998"/>