Godzilla rises for the final time

The movie will be Godzilla's last, producers say

The 28th and final film about Japanese cinema monster Godzilla was due to get its US premiere on Monday.

Final Wars ends a movie franchise which has built up an enormous following since its debut in 1954.

The green lizard, known in Japan as Gojira, is also to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The new film "will compile the fruits of 50 years' work and put an end to the series", Yukihko Mochida of Japan's Todo studio said.

But he may return if a "new generation of directors emerge or a brand new film-making method is found to create a whole new world", he added.

Final Wars includes 10 monsters from past Godzilla films.

They include the new, stronger, Monster X, and will be seen going on the rampage in New York, Shanghai, Sydney and Paris.

Godzilla has taken breaks before - in 1975 following a drop in cinema attendances, and in 1995. His first film saw him rise out of the sea after being awakened by a US atomic bomb test.

The green monster was resurrected as a computer-generated creature in a Hollywood movie six years ago, but the much-hyped $120m production failed to live up to expectations in the US, although it fared better overseas.