A sequel to Godzilla Minus One has officially been announced – find out more below.
- READ MORE: ‘Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire’ review: titanic team-up goes crash, smash and bash
Today (November 3) – which marks the annual Godzilla Day – Toho, the company that first created Godzilla and the kaiju universe in 1954 – announced the highly anticipated follow-up to the critically acclaimed 2023 film.
While the 2023 film was titled Godzilla Minus One, the newly announced sequel is being titled Godzilla Minus Zero. A release date has yet to be announced, nor has its plot details.
Takashi Yamazaki, who wrote and directed Minus One, will return to helm Minus Zero, while Shirogumi, the visual effects studio that nabbed the film an Oscar last year, returns as well. The film’s Oscar win made it the first-ever Godzilla film to win an Academy Award, and the first-ever Japanese film to win an award for special effects.
Set during the very tail end of World War II after the nuclear bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Godzilla Minus One tells the tale of how a devastated Japan is mobilized back into action by the sudden arrival of a 164-foot-tall reptilian behemoth that breathes atomic radiation.
Unlike other films in the long-running franchise, Godzilla Minus One focused more on its human characters rather than the giant lizard. It marked the fifth film in the Reiwa era of Godzilla produced by Toho, which began with 2016’s Shin Godzilla. This was followed by an animated trilogy, including Godzilla: Planet Of The Monsters, Godzilla: City On The Edge Of Battle and Godzilla: The Planet Eater.
In the west, the beloved kaiju franchise was revived with Godzilla in 2014 to kickstart the MonsterVerse saga, a shared cinematic universe with King Kong. Other films in the series include Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, Godzilla Vs. Kong and 2024’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. The next film in the franchise, Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, is slated for release in 2027. Also included in the MonsterVerse saga is the Apple+ TV series, Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters.
2024’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire scored a three-star review from NME, with James Mottram writing: “Undoubtedly, some will carp at the straightforward plot and thin characterisation. But Wingard does try out something different here, creating long dialogue-free sequences where it’s just the monsters going toe-to-toe. With Wingard relying on gestures, grunts and groans from his alpha-beasts, it’s like watching the most expensive silent movie ever made. Naturally, there’s also some next-level destruction as famous landmarks, including the Pyramids, get trashed. And while it won’t scratch an emotional itch, if it’s barnstorming building-bashing you want, then Godzilla X Kong delivers.”
