Godzilla rises again! And we don’t mean the big G-Man from Legendary Pictures. This time, we’re talking the original Toho Leviathan himself! On September 4th, the Godzilla Official by Toho YouTube channel released an official trailer for the Minus One film. The trailer not only showcased a new chapter for the company’s kaiju films, but also a fresh start for Godzilla himself. With a new project underway and much to talk about, we at Geek News Now will go over everything that Minus One will bring to the table this year.
From Ashes, Godzilla Rises!
Godzilla awakens. Image from fangoria.com
We all know the story of Godzilla by now. Created from nuclear bombings, wreaks havoc across Japan, etc. However, the genius minds of Toho decided that the G-man needed a new blueprint. Therefore, they opened up their history books and began plotting. And their new story definitely hit close to home.
Taking place post-war Japan, the country is still in a state of recovery after fighting the Americans. However, during nuclear testing by said Americans in the Marshall Islands, an atomic bombing gave birth to an enraged Gojira. As a result, the monstrous kaiju begins to rampage across the already ruined Japan, laying waste to anything in its path. Now, humanity must band together to put a stop to this unexpected threat before Japan gets completely wiped from existence. Will they be able to stop Godzilla’s path of destruction, or will Japan suffer from further loss?
Inspired From Chaos; A Pandemic Spark!
Takashi Yamazaki. Image from wikizilla.org
Of course we can’t discuss the upcoming Toho film without talking about the sheer masterminds behind the G-man, themselves. In 2016, following the release of Shin Godzilla (2016), co-director Shinji Higuchi stated at the corresponding G-Fest that Toho will not be able to release a future kaiju film until post-2020. This is large-in-part to them signing a contract with their friends over at Legendary Pictures– the latter having been in the process of using the company’s mascot to produce films. As a result, Toho postponed many projects surrounding their iconic kaiju in oreder to avoid overlap. So, where was the business to go?
Enter Takashi Yamazaki. Following the release of his film The Great War of Archimedes in 2019, Toho appointed the renowned director to create the next Godzilla film. Within one year, Yamazaki had a script ready to go. However, no thanks to a- ahem, ahem- certain pandemic, filming was postponed for the next three years. Thankfully, this gave him and the crew time to review and rewrite certain aspects of the script. With the inspiration from the worldwide stress, coupled with the country’s government’s unreliable nature at the time, that was the only spark Yamazaki needed to finish writing the script.
Around February 2022, Robot Communications helped announce the film under the working title of “Blockbuster Monster Movie”. It wasn’t November 3rd (Godzilla Day) that Toho unveiled said movie to be the next Godzilla film. In addition to this, the company declared that the film had been completed, and a targeted release date was set for the same day this year- in Japan.
What I found intersting is how both this film and Shin tackled the numerous crisis that Japan continued to face even to this day. Needless to say, modern audiences are sure to enjoy this film to its fullest.
Roaring To A Theater Near You!
Godzilla Minus One is set to officially premiere in theaters nationwide on November 29th. With early screenings in LA, the film received high praises for its creativity and subliminal messaging. Furthermore, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a whopping 100% freshness. With the film receiving high praise, even I- as a Godzilla fan- am looking forward to seeing the OG Goji return to the big screen.
But, let us know how y’all feel in the comment section below. Are you a fan of Godzilla? Share your excitement with us! Also, be sure to check out our Facebook page, as we keep our audience up-to-date on the latest happenings. Stay strong kaiju fans! And as always, Stay Geeky!
