Seven years after the release of Shin Godzilla, Toho has finally unveiled their latest solo Godzilla film, Godzilla Minus One.
The official teaser trailer shows off some brief glimpses of destruction, as people run in fear of a clearly agitated Godzilla. As President of Toho International explains, “Set in a post-war Japan, Godzilla Minus One will again show us a Godzilla that is a terrifying and overwhelming force.”
According to Ueda, the titled alludes to the idea that Japan, recently devastated by the war, now has to face Godzilla “bringing the country into the ‘minus.'”
This will be Godzilla’s 37th feature, and the 33rd Godzilla film produced by Toho. celebrating 69 years of the iconic kaiju.
Another fun fact: Godzilla Minus One will be the fifth film of the Reiwa era, including Shin Godzilla and the three Netflix animes, Planet of the Monsters, City on the Edge of Battle, and The Planet Eater. And because you’re probably now wondering, previous eras included the Showa era from 1954-1975 ( with15 films), the Heisei era from 1984-1995 (7), and the Millenium era from 1999-2004 (6).
Before Godzilla Minus One’s trailer and poster dropped on July 11, 2023, the only information we had about Toho’s latest Godzilla film were a few hints from their official Twitter account, as well as rumors that the movie would take place sometime in 1940s Japan. Those rumors turned out out be true! The film was originally under the working title Blackbuster Monster Movie, as revealed by Robot Communications in February 2022.
Godzilla Minus One is written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki (Lupin III: The First, Ghost Book), and will release in Japan on November 3, 2023 – otherwise known as Godzilla Day – and in the United States on December 1, 2023.
Toho also shared a full preview of Godzilla’s latest design. He’s looking particularly spiky, if you ask me, and is that a grin? No, probably not.
My thoughts: I’m loving the look of Godzilla here, as well as another return to his more menacing roots. While I also mostly enjoy the current direction of the U.S. Godzilla (and Kong) films – especially now that they’ve introduced the Hollow Earth and just decided to go crazy with it – I always feel like the Toho films are a touch above. Here’s hoping!
