Godzilla was almost a giant octopus

A closer look

The King of the Monsters almost had eight legs and a serious craving for sushi. During the early concept phases of the 1954 classic, special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya strongly pitched Godzilla as a massive, irradiated octopus. The producers quickly shot this down, correctly realizing that a giant ape-whale-dinosaur hybrid destroying Tokyo would be far more intimidating than a wet cephalopod slithering through the streets. Plus, a rubber dinosaur suit was much easier to violently stomp around in.