Holes through skyscrapers. Derailed trains. Landscapes strewn with flattened corpses. And then: those familiar tail plates, that signature roar… there could be no doubt at Legendary/WB’s panel at this past summer’s San Diego Comic-Con International that Godzilla was coming back in a big and brutal way. As perhaps the most talked-about surprise of the show, this teaser spawned much speculation and many questions – and now we have the answer to at least one: May 16th, 2014 is the release date. Also it will be in 3D.

Director Gareth Edwards (not to be confused with The Raid: Redemption director Gareth Evans) got his start in visual effects, and his last feature was Monsters, in which giant octopus-like creatures roamed the U.S./Mexican border. His take on Godzilla is rumored to be more of a disaster-movie approach than classic kaiju-battle, but what we saw in the Comic-Con teaser indicates that Godzilla seems to hew close to the classic look – small head, big spines, long lumbering tale. His mouth is a bit more beak-like, but it utters that rusty hinge shriek we know and love.

Are you excited for the raging reptile’s return? Sound off below, and “Like” Legendary Entertainment on Facebook for more details and up-to-the-minute Godzilla news.

——-

(Full disclosure: Nerdist Industries is now part of Legendary Entertainment but Nerdist.com remains editorially independent)