Godzilla Minus One Sequel - Will It Ever Happen?
Contains spoilers for "Godzilla Minus One"
It's been over seven years since the last live-action "Godzilla" film was made in Japan, and as fans of the media franchise will tell you, the wait was certainly worth it. "Godzilla Minus One" premiered across Japanese theaters in late 2023, and more recently saw a successful release in the United States and elsewhere. Given its status as a franchise film and a potential blockbuster, the film has shaken up the entertainment industry more than Godzilla himself has shaken up cities.
Set during the aftermath of World War II in Japan, "Godzilla Minus One" centers on the pilot, Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), whose cowardice during the war allowed him to avoid death by kamikaze at the expense of an encounter with Godzilla that riddles him with night terrors and survivor's guilt. When a mutated Godzilla returns to Japan to wreak more havoc, Shikishima teams up with a crew of minesweepers to protect his country — as well as his found family — from further destruction.
There is no shortage of "Godzilla" content in 2023. Still, many of those who watched "Godzilla Minus One" are already eager for a follow-up that continues to do justice to the iconic Japanese monster. Sadly, fans may find themselves waiting even longer than anticipated for the next Toho Studios "Godzilla" film, but this might not be a bad thing.
Why isn't a Godzilla Minus One sequel happening yet?
It's not uncommon for successful films to be immediately followed by countless sequels, prequels, and television series. However, the "Godzilla" brand is unique among other franchises, which may impact the audience's expectations for a follow-up to "Godzilla Minus One." The character first appeared in 1954's "Godzilla," created and produced by Toho, who has been involved in all the character's incarnations since.
However, Toho has also distributed the rights to "Godzilla" to many American studios, with the character most recently given to Legendary Entertainment to begin their own "MonsterVerse," fusing the worlds of Godzilla and King Kong. Some of these plans also coincided with Toho's decision in 2004 to put the franchise to rest following the release of "Godzilla: Final Wars," going as far as dismantling the giant water tank they'd used to film numerous kaiju films over the years.
Seeing as 12 years passed until Toho produced another "Godzilla" film with "Shin Godzilla," it seems the company has no desire at this point to crank out "Godzilla" projects on a regular or yearly basis, despite previous commitments. This sentiment was echoed by Minami Ichikawa, a producer on "Godzilla Minus One," who told GQ Japan, "I personally don't think there's any need to rush things too much ... After all, Godzilla is a character that is worth that much."
What has director Takashi Yamazaki said about a potential sequel?
Although Toho may be in no hurry to green-light a "Godzilla Minus One" sequel, there's one person who has been a strong advocate for it in the press: the film's director, Takashi Yamazaki. Yamazaki is one of the most prolific Japanese filmmakers of the past two decades and signed on to write and direct "Godzilla Minus One" after the release of "The Great War of Archimedes" in 2019.
Refreshingly, Yamazaki's pitch for his own "Godzilla" film was closer to the intent of the original 1954 film, telling the Associated Press, "There is a concept in Japan called 'tatarigami.' There are good gods, and there are bad gods. Godzilla is half-monster, but it's also half-god." Fortunately, Yamazaki has also expressed openness about continuing to explore these themes in potential sequels, asking an audience of fans at the film's premiere if they'd allow him the honor of making one more film.
There's a precedent for directors working on consecutive "Godzilla," films dating back to the earliest films. Ishirō Honda was the first director to return for a second "Godzilla" film, directing seven of them between 1962 and 1975. More recently, Kōbun Shizuno and Hiroyuki Seshita co-directed a trilogy of animated "Godzilla" films under Toho in 2017 and 2018. Considering the absurdly cheap budget of "Godzilla Minus One," Yamazaki might be the most logical choice for Toho's next "Godzilla" film, whether it's a direct sequel to "Minus One" or not.
What could be explored in a sequel?
Director Takashi Yamazaki ended "Godzilla Minus One" with a lot to carry over for a potential sequel or follow-up. During the film's final act, a team of navy veterans successfully entrap Godzilla in Sagami Bay, allowing Shikishima to fly a plane full of explosives directly into the monster's mouth and eject as it detonates, killing the monster and saving Japan. While the monster seems defeated, the film's very last shot reveals a piece of Godzilla's remains glowing as it starts to regenerate, hinting at the monster's potential return.
Additionally, Shikisima's survival also means he gets to reunite with Noriko, his partner throughout the film who is seemingly killed earlier by Godzilla's heat ray. As they embrace, we see a moving black substance inside her neck, potentially indicating that Noriko has been infected in some way by Godzilla's radiation. Given the film's connections to Hayao Miyazaki's "Princess Mononoke," which Yamazaki cited as an influence over the film's themes, Noriko's condition could be a personified curse that follows Japan following Godzilla's attack.
Yamazaki has also talked about what a sequel to "Godzilla Minus One" could look like, expressing interest in doing a direct sequel that follows the same characters in the aftermath of killing Godzilla at the end of the film. If this ends up being the case, it would be the first direct sequel to a "Godzilla" film that Toho has produced since "Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S." in 2003.
Who would star in a Godzilla Minus One sequel?
If a direct sequel ends up being made to "Godzilla Minus One," fans would probably expect to see some familiar faces return. This could include Ryunosuke Kamiki as Shikishima, the film's protagonist who heroically defeats Godzilla, or Minami Hamabe's Noriko, who survives a Godzilla attack but is infected by the monster's radiation at the end, potentially setting her up to be a monster herself in the next film. There's even a chance the film takes place years later, following an older Akiko, the adopted daughter of Shikishima and Noriko.
The film's supporting cast may also play an integral role in future films. Yamazaki singled out Kenji Noda (Hidetaka Yoshioka), an engineer who devises the final plan to entrap Godzilla, as his favorite character, telling CBR, "I have worked with Yoshioka on a number of other projects, and it was great that he had the time to play Dr. Noda because he just brought so much to the role." Yamazaki also designated ship captain Seiji Akitsu (Kuranosuke Sasaki) as another one of his favorites from the film.
This wouldn't be the first time actors appear numerous times throughout the "Godzilla" franchise. For instance, Akira Nakao played the role of Colonel Aso in three "Godzilla" films from the mid-1990s. Additionally, actors like Kenji Sahara and Yoshifumi Tajima have appeared in multiple "Godzilla" films, albeit they both took on many different parts throughout the franchise, from principal antagonists to minor speaking roles.
Shin Godzilla was a hit, but Toho was barred from making sequels.
Despite "Godzilla Minus One" proving to be a huge hit among audiences, it wasn't easy for Toho to get it made. The company officially rebooted its franchise in 2016 with "Shin Godzilla," taking place in the modern day as the Japanese government handles an unexpected Godzilla crisis. The film was beloved in Japan, though Western audiences were more critical. As described in a review for Forbes by Ollie Barder: "The few times the characters speak English was painful to listen to and some of the acting felt amateurish at times." However, they inevitably "actually really enjoyed this movie."
However, Toho was unable to capitalize on a sequel to "Shin Godzilla" quickly, thanks to their contract with Legendary Entertainment, who followed up 2014's "Godzilla" with plans for a cinematic "MonsterVerse" similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Per their agreement, Toho was not allowed to release a live-action "Godzilla" film in the same year as Legendary Entertainment, meaning production on "Godzilla Minus One" didn't start until after the release of "Godzilla vs. Kong" in 2021, originally scheduled for release in 2020.
In the interim period between "Shin Godzilla" and "Minus One," Toho released an animated trilogy starting with 2017's "Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters." Given Legendary's extensive "MonsterVerse" plans in 2024 and beyond, it may be tricky for Toho to schedule a follow-up to "Godzilla: Minus One" anytime soon.
Godzilla Minus One was developed with a cinematic universe in mind
While there might be restrictions surrounding Toho's ability to produce a sequel to "Godzilla Minus One" anytime soon, that doesn't mean the company doesn't have big plans for their most iconic character. In 2018, when it was confirmed that Toho would not develop a direct sequel to "Shin Godzilla," Toho executive Keiji Ota discussed the more ambitious plans to create a cinematic universe separate from Legendary's "MonsterVerse," telling Nikkei Style, "From 2021 onwards, we are now strategically planning to release a Godzilla movie at least once every two years, preferably once a year."
In pursuit of this goal, Toho began planning new "Godzilla" projects as early as 2019, setting up a "Godzilla Room" at their studios to develop the franchise's future. However, this strategy is not limited to live-action films, with Toho's Minami Ichikawa explaining to GQ Japan, "In the future we will continue to realize various new ideas such as publications, merchandise, and collaborative products."
Even though "Godzilla Minus One" was initially developed with the promise of a cinematic universe reminiscent of the MCU, it seems clear based on the reception to the movie (and perhaps an overall change in public opinion regarding cinematic universes) that Toho wants to move forward with more respect to their beloved character, which might mean less frequent "Godzilla" films, but when they do come out, they'll be better for it.
Critics and fans loved Godzilla Minus One
"Godzilla Minus One" might not have a sequel in the works, but Toho has nothing to worry about given the reception the film has received. Unlike "Shin Godzilla," which struggled to appeal to all Western audiences, "Godzilla Minus One" has taken off in America specifically, with publications like Variety writing of it, "[Takashi] Yamazki's thoughtful script holds firm and is dotted with delightful humor at just the right moments," and "pays loving tribute to the film that started it all."
Japanese publications also praised the film's themes and CGI effects, drawing favorable comparisons to the original film from 1954. The film has even received praise from directors of previous "Godzilla" films, including Hideaki Anno of "Shin Godzilla" and Gareth Edwards of Legendary's 2014 film.
Many longtime celebrity fans of "Godzilla" also had nothing but positive things to say about "Minus One." Japanese video game developer Hideo Kojima praised the writing and performances, while "Pacific Rim" writer and director Guillermo del Toro called it "superb" on X, formerly known as Twitter, and praised the film's ambitious status as a period piece. No one was more flattered by the film's positive reception worldwide than Yamazaki, who also shared via the X platform that he was "encouraged by the passionate comments based on a thorough analysis of the film."
Its box office performance surpassed even superhero films
2023 has been a strange year for the entertainment industry, from the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes to the industry-wide discourse surrounding the role of artificial intelligence in films and TV. It's been an even stranger year for the box office, with the year's top hits at the box office including "Barbie," "Oppenheimer," and "Five Nights at Freddy's," while previous years' surefire hits, like "The Marvels," vastly underperformed beyond even the low expectations analysts had for it.
"Godzilla Minus One," while not even cracking the top 50 box office hits of 2023, is among the biggest surprises of the year, grossing over $78 million by the end of the year against a budget of under $15 million. Furthermore, this milestone means it's extremely close to surpassing the worldwide performance of "Shin Godzilla."
In an article for NBC News analyzing the box office success of "Godzilla Minus One" compared to the year's disappointments, Comscore's Paul Dergarabedian explained that audiences are nowadays more drawn to "outside-of-the-box thinking or movies that have a unique point of view, or not trying to just replicate what was successful before." While franchise superhero films like "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" or "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" still toppled the box office, audiences seem to be fatigued by underdeveloped, or more simply, "bad" films. This was certainly fortuitous for "Godzilla Minus One," which fits Dergarabedian's descriptions better than Legendary's "Godzilla" output in recent years.
Toho plans to re-release Godzilla: Minus One in 2024
Fans who loved "Godzilla Minus One" don't have to worry about not getting to see their favorite monster again on the big screen for long, as Toho already has plans to continue the success of "Minus One" without making an entirely new film. On January 12, 2024, "Godzilla Minus One" will be returning to theaters in Japan with a brand-new re-cut of the film in black-and-white, titled "Godzilla Minus One / Minus Color."
However, this re-release is far from a money-making scheme from Toho, with Takashi Yamazaki confirming it's more than just a recolor of an existing film. As he described in a press release, "I had them make adjustments while making full use of various mattes, as if they were creating a new movie. What I was aiming for was a style that looked like it was taken by masters of monochrome photography," (via Fangoria). Yamazaki likened the new cut of the film to the original 1954 film, trying to create a new sense of fear in audiences towards the titular monster.
It's not confirmed whether this version of the film will make it to American theaters, but it will likely come to streaming services, or physical media, at some point in the future. Either way, it's a chance for audience members who loved "Godzilla Minus One" to experience the same film in a different way, which will satisfy those who are anxious for more "Godzilla."
Could Godzilla be at risk of overexposure?
Whether or not there's a sequel to "Godzilla Minus One" on the way, it's an exciting time to be a fan of Toho's monster. Between "Godzilla Minus One" — as well as Legendary's recent and upcoming releases of the MonsterVerse — there's "Godzilla" content for those who want to see both serious takes on the character, as well as escapist popcorn flicks.
As Slashfilm wrote, this should be a cause of celebration among "Godzilla" fans, writing, "Seven decades of monster throw-downs and this is very debatably the best moment the franchise has ever had." However, they also addressed the possibility of overexposure of content. This is criticism currently being leveled at cinematic universes like Marvel, who have spent the past few years releasing approximately three big-budget movies a year, with multiple Disney+ miniseries filling in the gaps between.
At the very least, this golden era for the franchise is a relief to fans who lived through a drought of "Godzilla" projects between 2006 and 2011, and even longer for those who prefer Toho's interpretations of the character over Legendary's. Toho may also space out "Godzilla" projects by exploring some of their other IP, which they've already done with "Shin Ultraman" in 2022 and "Shin Kamen Rider" in 2023.
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Where will fans of Godzilla see the creature next?
Aside from Toho's projects, Godzilla won't be far from the screen — both big and small — heading into 2024. Currently, Legendary Entertainment has begun expanding the "MonsterVerse" into television, with the miniseries "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" airing on Apple TV+. The series centers on the establishment of the Monarch organization following the events of 2014's "Godzilla," as well as the events decades prior that laid the groundwork for Godzilla's return.
The New York Times wrote of the television series: "Putting impressive visual effects at the service of a relatively straightforward, earthbound story, it has just enough nostalgic charm to invoke a more innocent era — say, mid-'70s to mid-'90s — of adventure filmmaking." Despite the more modest storytelling of "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters," more casual "MonsterVerse" fans may be more excited for the next big-screen appearance of Godzilla.
In 2024, Godzilla and King Kong are set to share the screen once again with "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire." Rebecca Hall and Brian Tyree Henry will reprise their roles from 2021's "Godzilla vs. Kong," but this time the two titular monsters will be joining forces rather than butting heads. The first trailer debuted online in December 2023, and fans are already excited to see the evolution of these Titans, which may bide the time until Toho gets started on a proper follow-up to "Godzilla Minus One."