A year or so before making the science fiction adventure MESSAGE FROM SPACE (1978) Toei first considered on making a fairly big budgeted kaiju film with a foreign source. Like Toho and Hammer's failed NESSIE film, Toei and the British company Amicus, whose perhaps best known for their series of Edgar Rice Burroughs adaptations staring Doug McClure, were going to make a giant ape film called KONGORILLA, to capitalize on the 1976 KING KONG remake. It wouldn't be too farfetched to assume that Amicus, like Hammer with NESSIE, bailed out of the co-production and KONGORILLA was eventually dropped, leading Toei to consider DEVIL-MANTA next.

Enrty Written by Rafael C. Gonzalez
Special Thanks to Keith Akein and Augusr Ragone of Henshin Online