A cinema icon is returning to theaters this summer after being absent from movie screens for a decade. In Godzillathe King of Monsters is poised to make a triumphant return to mark the series' 60th anniversary with his latest feature film from director Gareth Edwards.

Godzilla hits theaters a little less than two months from now and the marketing is just beginning to kick into high gear. We've already seen posters, teasers, one very intense trailer, and even a "Godzilla experience" that was set up at last year's San Diego Comic-Con. The updated design for the big green guy has been featured on magazine covers and turned into giant toys.

Only adding to the film's promotional buzz is this short video (above) of Edwards answering the all important question: What are his top three movie monsters? His number one is obvious. He just directed a film starring that monster. But the other two are a little surprising and not creatures that immediately jump to mind when you think "movie monsters" - at least not ones like Godzilla.

It's interesting to speculate about what Edwards' #2 and #3 - Steven Spielberg's shark from Jaws and Ridley Scott's Xenomorph from Alien - might say about about how he handled the reboot of Godzilla. For instance, both of those monsters are kept mostly hidden for the majority of their respective films. Could this mean Godzilla will only be glimpsed briefly until the film's climax? Perhaps, but judging from how up front Sony has been about showing Godzilla in their recent marketing materials, probably not.

Godzilla Teaser Poster 2 Header

It should be noted that this isn't first time Edwards has mentioned Spielberg as an influence, having previously cited Close Encounters of the Third Kind as a film he referenced frequently. Star Bryan Cranston also drew comparisons between Godzilla and Jaws in terms of their monsters, making this sort of speculation not entirely out of the question.

Though it's possible that the Jaws/Alien/Aliens influence manifests in another way. Those films' monsters aren't entirely evil characters, but have something of a 'misunderstood creature lashing out' angle to them. Godzilla, too, is often depicted as neither evil nor malicious, but rather aggressive and territorial. Humans are often the instigators behind his rampages, making them more akin to retaliations than outright attacks.

Yet, retaliation or not, Godzilla's attacks are devastating, a point Edwards' Godzilla aims to make abundantly clear. Just check out the aftermath featured in some of these newly released photos (via Indiewire):

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How strong of an influence do you believe films like Jaws and Alien had on Edwards when it came to directing Godzilla? Do you expect a slow reveal of Godzilla over the course of the film? Let us know what you're thinking in the comments below!

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Godzilla stomps into theaters May 16th, 2014.

Source: Indiewire