Be forwarned citizens of Tokyo, Godzilla is planning a comeback! The giant, irradiated lizard, who spent decades setting the gold standard for city-stomping, will soon be making a return to the silver screen.

Legendary Pictures will team up with Warner Brothers to once again relaunch the  Godzilla franchise, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Both companies are aiming to have a new monster epic crashing into theatres by 2012.

“Godzilla is one of the world’s most powerful pop culture icons,” said Thomas Tull, chairman and CEO of Legendary “Our plans are to produce the Godzilla that we, as fans, would want to see.” The last big Godzilla flick was 1998’s New York-set retake, directed by Roland Emmerich and Matthew Broderick. Many would argue that, among numerous other sins, that film made the mistake of redesigning the classic beast.

Godzilla first marched out of the ocean and into Japanese theatres (as Gojira) back in 1954. Since then, the character has appeared in countless movies, TV shows, cartoons and video games. Originally a metaphor for the destruction wrought on Hiroshima by the atomic bomb, Godzilla eventually became one of the greatest movie monsters of all time.

Legendary Pictures and Warner Brothers have teamed up on a number of blockbusters in the past, most notably Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Hangover. Their most recent collaboration, Clash of the Titans, opens Friday.

(Image: Toho)

Story provided by the Dish Information Corporation