The legend goes a couple Toho executives were in Hollywood when people were lined up around the block to see Star Wars. They got The War in Space in the can and into Japanese theaters before Star Wars even opened there!

There’s a bizarre alternate version floating around online that splices in footage from a couple Godzilla movies and some Japanese tv shows, but nobody is sure who actually made it. It’s supposed to have aired on tv somewhere in the late 80’s or early 90’s.

Message From Space is cheesy fun. I had a lot of deja vu first time I saw it, as much of it’s FX footage was used in the 80’s Laserdisc game Astron Belt. The final battle scenes are so similar to Return Of The Jedi, I believe George must have seen it and took notes! 😉