‘Godzilla’: New Movie From ‘Minus One’ Director Takashi Yamazaki Greenlit!!

After revitalizing the King of Monsters with his smash hit film Godzilla Minus One, writer-director Takashi Yamazaki will once again get to work with the titular kaiju. Toho International announced today that a new movie has been greenlit for production with Yamazaki set to return as writer, director, and VFX supervisor. Little is known about the film or whether it will have any connection to his last outing at this time, but it’s yet another exciting piece of news coming on the year of Godzilla’s 70th anniversary.

Yamazaki brought almost unprecedented success to the long-running giant monster franchise with Minus One. The film, which follows a kamikaze pilot deserter who seeks redemption by defending Japan from Godzilla in the aftermath of World War II, was universally hailed by critics and viewers alike. Taking the King of Monsters back to his roots as an allegory for nuclear weaponry and creating compelling human characters to ground the story, it earned a Certified Fresh 99% Tomatometer score and Verified Hot 98% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, with Collider among those praising it in his 8/10 review. Crucially, it was also a financial smash for Toho, earning $116 million at the box office on a budget of around $15 million and becoming the top-grossing Japanese film and third highest-grossing international film ever in the U.S.

Beyond the realm of Godzilla, Yamazaki has built up a strong resume in Japan by adapting other properties and delivering original ideas. He previously delivered a two-part live-action adaptation of the Parasyte manga, as well as the stellar CGI-animated Lupin III: The First which translated the beloved anime and manga series’ style to the big screen. As far as manga goes, he’s also taken on the classic character Doraemon with Stand By Me Doraemon and its 2020 sequel. Some of his highest praise has come for his trilogy of adaptations with the Always: Sunset on Third Street series, though he’s also earned high marks for war movies like The Fighter Pilot and The Great War of Archimedes. His work with Minus One has still been hailed as one of his best though, taking the franchise in a fresh direction that bodes well for its future.

‘Godzilla Minus One’ Is Back in Theaters Right Now

Though it may be some time before Yamazaki‘s return to Godzilla arrives in theaters, viewers can celebrate the King of Monster’s 70th birthday on November 3 by seeing the director’s last film on the big screen once again this weekend. Minus One is back in 1365 North American locations with roughly 13 minutes of exclusive new footage to make the experience feel fresh again. In addition to being available in color, the black-and-white Minus Color version of the film will screen to recreate the vibes of the original 1954 movie that started it all. Theaters are the best way to take in the stunning visual effects of Minus One, which were impressive enough to earn the Godzilla franchise its first Academy Award for Best VFX against Hollywood blockbusters with much higher budgets.

Stay tuned here at Collider for more on Yamazaki’s new Godzilla movie and watch the announcement video below. In the meantime, Godzilla Minus One is now back in select theaters.