Prior to the release of the 2014 American "Godzilla" reboot, a sizable portion of the Godzilla fan community was torn apart by a debate over whether Toho had retroactively changed the name of TriStar's version of Godzilla to simply 'Zilla' during production of 2004's Godzilla: Final Wars. The furor intensified once it became known that Zilla would appear in the next IDW comic, "Rulers of Earth"—his first sighting in Godzilla media since Final Wars.
For the film that would celebrate this anniversary, Toho held nothing back. Fourteen different monsters from past films would return to the big screen for Godzilla: Final Wars. As director Ryuhei Kitamura was working on the roster for Godzilla: Final Wars, he asked producer Shogo Tomiyama if it was possible for TriStar's Godzilla to make an appearance. Tomiyama concluded that it was possible, but if that would happen, the creature would need to be renamed. In recognition of the way TriStar's depiction had "took the God out of Godzilla," they chose the name 'Zilla', for the creature.
The Zilla Name Change myth gained popularity because an abundance of fans wanted to believe that Toho hated TriStar’s Godzilla as much as they did. The 1998 film made money for Toho, and continues to through TV airings, soundtracks, and home video sales to this day. The same holds true for Sony. Neither company would benefit from the confusion of retitling the 1998 film and its monster "ZILLA," and its copyright remains unchanged to this day.