UPDATED: Toho’s new Godzilla has a wicked sunburn

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends the use of sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher, but clearly those standards are fit only for puny humans and not radioactive monsters from the bottom of the sea. In other words: Images of Toho’s new Godzilla—which the Japanese studio promises will smash America’s flabby attempts to appropriate the kaiju king like so many balsa-wood cityscapes—give the monster a crispy reddish look, as if he forgot to reapply every two hours while sunbathing off of Bikini Atoll:

AAAGGHH HE LOOKS SO FUCKING CREEPY… but I think I love it. #Godzilla #GodzillaResurgence #ShinGojira #Godzilla2016 pic.twitter.com/21UcZpxCPe

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— That Cooper Guy (@coopercastille) January 4, 2016

There might be another reason for Godzilla’s new hue, though: As i09 reported earlier this year, the new movie will use a combination of CGI and “a towering doll of rippling red muscle that resembles a giant biological anatomy chart” to create the monster for the upcoming Godzilla: Resurgence, a.k.a. Shin Godzilla. So whether this is the look Godzilla will actually sport in the film or an unfinished effects shot isn’t clear, especially since these images were leaked via Toho fan groups on Facebook. The conspicuously monster-less Japanese teaser trailer for the film, which was released last month and is embedded below, isn’t saying.

[via i09]

UPDATE: According to Birth. Movies. Death., Godzilla’s sunburnt visage will actually appear in the movie, but only briefly. “[B]y his third form, he should look like a much more standard Godzilla,” according to writer Evan Saathoff.