TOHO has announced a new Godzilla film is already in development after the worldwide success of Godzilla Minus One last year.
While details on the new Godzilla film are scant, it will be once again led by Godzilla Minus One director, writer, and effects supervisor Takashi Yamazaki. Further information wasn’t shared.
The new Godzilla film was announced just ahead of Godzilla Day, which is celebrated internationally today on November 3rd. The news came ahead of the North American re-release of Godzilla Minus One in America theaters, with its black-and-white version.
Godzilla Minus One is set in post-World War II Japan and stars Ryunosuke Kamiki as a former kamikaze pilot suffering from survivor’s guilt and PTSD after encountering the titular giant monster, who begins his rampage. Supporting cast includes: Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Sakura Ando, and Kuranosuke Sasaki.
The previous live-action film in the franchise, 2016’s Shin Godzilla, was co-directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi. The film was the third reboot of the franchise and the first film in the franchise’s Reiwa era. To confuse things further, Godzilla Minus One is also a reboot and starts an entirely new continuity with the titular monster not being connected to any previous version or film.
It’s also worth pointing out that TOHO’s contract with western producer Legendary Pictures and their “MonsterVerse” joint-production forbids TOHO from releasing their own Godzilla films in the same calendar year as a Legendary-made film. Due to this and several pitches for a new film being rejected, a new live-action Godzilla film from TOHO wasn’t possible until after 2020.
It makes sense that TOHO will entrust the future of the Godzilla franchise with Yamazaki after the massive success of Godzilla Minus One. The film went on to become the third highest-grossing foreign-language film in US theaters and the highest-grossing Japanese film at the US box office.
Furthermore, earlier this year Godzilla Minus One became the first Japanese film to ever be recognized by the Academy Awards, winning the 2024 award for Best Visual Effects. The film also became the first film in the franchise’s 70 year history to win an Academy Award.
