Takashi Yamazaki’s new Godzilla film has been confirmed as a direct sequel to the Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One. More here.
A new report at Bloomberg Japan indicates that Toho is set to make a sequel to 2023’s brilliant World War II-set kaiju epic, Godzilla Minus One. Even better, the film’s director Takashi Yamazaki is returning to helm the project.
In the wake of the film’s success in late 2023, Yamazaki and Toho – the studio behind the film – vowed that there would be no sequel. However, it appears to have reversed course on that decision and while we knew the film’s director, Takashi Yamazaki, was working on another Godzilla movie, we now know that it is indeed a direct sequel to Godzilla Minus One.
You can read our thoughts on why the first film was such a brilliant piece of cinema right here. We weren’t alone either. The movie grossed $116m worldwide from a budget of just $15m. Oh, and let’s not forget that it won the Oscar for best visual effects on that shoestring budget as well. It was the highest-grossing live-action movie to release in Japan during 2023. Also, it became the third highest-grossing non-English-language film in the American market to date.
Read more: Godzilla Minus One | What Hollywood can learn from Toho’s instant classic
Set in the wake of World War II, the first film followed the struggles of a kamikaze pilot and was as much a war movie or a deeply personal drama as it was a monster flick. It was certainly a different approach from the one Hollywood is taking with its own Godzilla movies, not to mention with CGI as well. Hopefully you don’t need us to tell you that it paid off, but if you haven’t yet seen the film, it’s well worth seeking out.
Almost nothing has been revealed regarding the sequel, which was announced in a business report, with Toho stating that it will ‘proceed with a sequel to the Academy Award-winning Godzilla -1.0.’
It’s good news, but we continue to hope that Godzilla Minus One's true legacy is reminding larger film studios that crowd-pleasing action, thoughtful drama and judicious use of VFX are a recipe that audiences will venture to the cinema for – and can be achieved for a fraction of the cost of most Hollywood blockbusters.
We’ll bring you more on this project as we hear it.
