Summary
- Toho's Godzilla Minus One, promising a return to the destructive and monstrous Godzilla of classic Kaiju movies.
- The new Godzilla design for Godzilla Minus One is more grotesque and resembles the traditional Gojira from the Toho universe, with dorsal fins resembling the design from Godzilla 2000.
- Godzilla Minus One is set to be released in theaters in the United States on December 1, 2023, marking Toho's first theatrical Godzilla movie since Shin Godzilla in 2016.
While the American-made Godzilla movies are still in progress, Kaiju pioneers Toho are ensuring the King of the Monsters still has a theatrical stomping in 2023 — and ever since the Godzilla Minus One news broke there's been huge anticipation. Toho International is the original Godzilla movie-making studio, creating the first Gojira movie in 1954. Godzilla Minus One is the 33rd movie in the franchise from Toho and their first live-action movie since Shin Godzilla in 2016. The trailers for Godzilla Minus One already highlight how it's a very different movie to Legendary's MonsterVerse take on the King of Kaiju's, one that harks back to Godzilla's roots as an indefatigable walking allegory for the atomic bomb.
Godzilla Minus One takes place in a world that already suffered through the destructive tendencies of Godzilla, with Tokyo in ruins. Toho promises to bring back the destructive and monstrous Godzilla from its past movies rather than the more sympathetic version shown in the MonsterVerse movies from American studios. The 2023 Godzilla movie is also not a direct sequel to any specific movie from the past but does share a slight continuity with the animated trilogy of movies that aired on Netflix, as well as 2016's Shin Godzilla. With that in mind, the Godzilla Minus One news indicates the wait is short for fans wanting to see the Japanese version of Godzilla once again.
The Latest Godzilla Minus One News
The latest Godzilla Minus One news is that there is a brand-new trailer. The new Godzilla Minus One trailer has more looks at Godzilla, including him rampaging through the city and destroying everything in his path. However, this trailer opens up a lot of questions about when the movie takes place. Much of the original thought was that this took place right after World War II and the bombing of Japan. However, the area of Japan destroyed in the two Godzilla Minus One trailers is not what was destroyed in World War II by the Atomic Bombs. This new trailer showed that it was Godzilla who destroyed this part of Japan on his rampage.
There were also two lines of dialogue in the new Godzilla Minus One trailer that shows the events of the movie aren't Godzilla's first appearance in Japan. In the traditional Godzilla lore, he was basically more-or-less created in the 1950s out of the remnants of the Atomic Bomb that destroyed Japan. In this new Godzilla Minus One trailer, one person recognizes Godzilla and mentions him by name, showcasing how much the 2023 Toho Godzilla movie is connected ot the originals. Another line of dialogue seems to confirm this — "The monster will never forgive us." This makes it sound like Godzilla was there before, and could have been the hero he once was. However, someone did something that caused Godzilla to go on this rampage, and it might be humanity's fault that Godzilla is now a destructive monster.
Godzilla Minus One Release Date
The Godzilla Minus One release date has been announced, and it will hit theaters in the United States on December 1, 2023. This is the first Toho Godzilla movie released in theaters since Shin Godzilla, which arrived in July 2016. Since then, there were three animated Godzilla movies launching on Netflix. Other than Toho, Warner Bros. released an American movie in the franchise in 2019 with Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and followed that up with Godzilla vs. Kong in 2021. On top of the new Toho Godzilla Minus One movie, Warner still has another movie coming in 2024, with Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire.
Godzilla Minus One Cast
The Godzilla Minus One cast features a wide range of Japanese actors. Behind the camera, Takashi Yamazaki directs the movie. This is his first Godzilla movie, but he previously won Director of the Year and Screenplay of the Year at the Japanese Academy Film Prize in 2006 for Always: Sunset on Third Street. That was a drama film, but he has also worked on big action movies, directing the sci-fi action movies Parasyte: Part 1 and Parasyte: Part 2, as well as the CGI anime Dragon Quest: Your Story. Other than Yamazaki, who also wrote the screenplay and oversaw the visual effects.
Starring in Godzilla Minus One is Ryunosuke Kamiki as Koichi Shikishima, currently known in Japan for his role in the 2023 series Ranman, but also voiced the giant baby in 2001's Spirited Away. Minami Hamabe s him as Noriko Oishi. Hamabe is also a star of Ranman alongside Ryunosuke Kamiki, and has had several movie roles prior to Godzilla Minus One such as 2023's Shin Kamen Rider. The two Ranman stars aren't alone of course, as the additional cast of Godzilla Minus One includes Yuki Yamada as Shiro Mizushima, Munetaka Aoki as Sosaku Tachibana, Hidetaka Yoshioka as Kenji Nada, Sakura Ando as Sumiko Ota, and Kuranosuke Sasaki as Yoji Akitsu.
Godzilla Minus One Story Details
There is almost no Godzilla Minus One news concerning the storyline, the monster's origin, or why he is attacking Tokyo. The trailer for Godzilla Minus One shows that Tokyo is "war-torn" and that Godzilla has destroyed almost everything, and he isn't finished yet. It also takes place after World War II, when the rest of Japan was still reeling from the Atomic Bomb that ended the conflict. "The concept is that Japan, which had already been devastated by the war, faces a new threat with Godzilla, bringing the country into the 'minus'," said President of Toho International Koji Ueda (via Forbes).
Outside of that, the only thing known about the new movie is the differences between this version of Godzilla and the past versions from Toho. First, this is nothing like the American version of Godzilla from the MonsterVerse, and it also looks like it will be a departure from the last live-action Toho movie, Shin Godzilla, which hit in 2016.
The design seen in the Godzilla Minus One trailer shows that this version looks nothing like the one in Shin Godzilla. That 2016 release had Godzilla look more grotesque than his previous iterations. This new movie looks a little more like the traditional Gojira from the Toho universe. The monster still looks different and unique, although his dorsal fins resemble the Toho Millennium era redesign from Godzilla 2000. While the creature looks different, it appears that the story will realign with Godzilla rampaging through a city unable to stop him and move away from the battles with other monsters that many Godzilla movies delved into.
Godzilla Minus One Trailer
The new Godzilla Minus One trailer starts off with what looks like a post-war Japan, and then a headline shows that is exactly what happened. This movie takes place following World War II, but this was not caused by the Atomic Bomb. The setting is Tokyo, and "Japan had lost everything" in its battle with Godzilla. Things only got worse, because Godzilla was back and was ready to destroy what was left standing. The trailer then shows several shots of people running for their lives while the ground breaks open, buildings fall, and a train car gets thrown. It ends with the defining shot that fully establishes the tone of the next Toho Godzilla movie — Godzilla roaring into the screen with a Godzilla Minus One text overlay title reveal.
The full Godzilla Minus One trailer was released in September 2023, and it showed a lot more about what Godzilla actually looks like. In the new Godzilla Minus One trailer. Unlike the first trailer, this one has some dialogue and hints at what caused Godzilla to rampage in this movie. It mentions that the war has destroyed Japan, and took the country from "zero to minus." There was also a shot of what looked like an Atomic Bomb explosion and then Godzilla attacking warships. Finally, someone actually recognized Godzilla, which meant this was not his first appearance, and another character said "That monster will never forgive us."
