Following a set of strong reviews, and with a stellar name behind it, ‘Godzilla’ is set to stomp on the competition this weekend to reign supreme at the box office. But director Gareth Edwards still has regrets, namely the cutting of Akira Takarada’s cameo in the movie.

Godzilla

Takarada starred in the original, 1954 movie, but his involvement in the Godzilla franchise actually stretches to six appearances in total, as the monster remains one of the most rebooted characters in cinema. 

"There was a lot of pressure to get on with the adventure and get to the monsters you know, as soon as you can. So, lots of things came out of that part of the movie ... and I hung onto that [scene with Takarada] til the last second, and it was still deemed, by the screenings when we tested it, that we had to get it shorter. And so that ended up having to go which is probably my biggest regret," explained Edwards. 

More: 'Godzilla' Is More Growling Than Roaring Success, But Still... [Trailer]

"From an emotional point of view in terms of my love of Godzilla, the hardest thing was Akira Takarada, who was in the original films, did a cameo for us on day one," said Edwards. "He played an immigration's officer that welcomes Aaron's character to Japan, and so I was like, 'This is perfect: Day One. First Shot.'" (Business Insider)

Legendary Pictures made a bit of an error in releasing a photo of Takarada and Edwards together. When it was announced that his scene had been cut, diehard fans of the franchise kicked off a petition to get him back in. 

"When you make a film there are many, many scenes and a lot of my favorite little ideas or shots are not in the movie because you've got to think of it as a whole," said Edwards, who reached out to Takarada about the decision to cut his cameo. "I've written to him. He did a chat show I believe and he's a real gentleman so I think he was understanding but, you know, it's just one of those horrible things about the process."

Watch the trailer for 'Godzilla' here