SEVENTY YEARS INTO his screen career, Godzilla remains a monster box-office draw. While the US MonsterVerse franchise continues to evolve, original Japanese studio Toho has conquered the world with its latest homegrown film, Godzilla Minus One —an international hit that’s received unanimous acclaim, a worldwide haul north of $100 million, and even earned an Oscar nomination. “Right now, I’m finally feeling a little bit of relief,” its director, writer and visual-effects supervisor Takashi Yamazaki tells Empire. “For the longest time in my career, I was the director who wanted to make a Godzilla film. Now I’ve become the director who has made a Godzilla film.” And it only cost a reported $15 million — perhaps even less, as Yamazaki has hinted on X. “I don’t know if I can go into specifics,” he says, but concedes that while it’s “pretty top-tier” for a Japanese studio, it “isn’t a big Hollywood-style budget”.
Yamazaki’s vision to recapture “that fear factor” of Godzilla himself (“part beast, part God” says the director), while also spinning the compelling human story of guilt-ridden kamikaze pilot Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), has captured audiences across the globe. “I’ve got feedback that there’s a significant amount of human drama that’s well balanced in Godzilla Minus One, and that was something I was very conscious of during the creative process,” he says. “It makes me realise that this film was worth making.”
Given the response, hopes for a sequel are high. “I would certainly like to see what the sequel would look like,” Yamazaki says, noting that nothing is greenlit yet. But he’s “very curious” about where Shikishima and his partner Noriko (Minami Hamabe) go next. “I know that Shikishima’s war seems over, and we’ve reached this state of peace and calm —but perhaps [it’s the] calm before the storm, and the characters have not yet been forgiven for what has been imposed upon them,” the filmmaker warns. Could more classic kaiju emerge? Yamazaki —sat in front of a wall of Toho toys —won’t be drawn on specifics, but seems intrigued by the possibilities. “I don’t know that anyone has pulled off a more serious tone of kaiju-versus-kaiju with human drama, and that challenge is something that I’d like to explore.”
For now, awards season beckons. Yet with Godzilla Minus One’s success, Yamazaki’s already a winner. “I’ve already experienced the dream that I was going for,” he says. “I’ve received all the awards I can.” Go, go, Godzilla.