While Hollywood is still on strike, the legendary Japanese film studio Toho is preparing the next big cinema spectacle: "Godzilla Minus One" has its first trailer.
UPDATE from 8 September, 3:00 pm:
Series start: 17 November on Apple TV+.
Original news from 5 September:
Studios outside America are filling the gaps that will soon arise. For example, the legendary Japanese film studio Toho. At the end of the year, it will provide the next literally heavyweight cinema spectacle - in the form of "Godzilla Minus One".
Finally the first trailer! And it's causing a stir
I write about technology as if it were cinema, and about films as if they were real life. Between bits and blockbusters, I’m after stories that move people, not just generate clicks. And yes – sometimes I listen to film scores louder than I probably should.
Now Hollywood is unwrapping another one after all. Namely, a "Godzilla" series set in the so-called "Monsterverse". This is Warner Brothers' cinematic universe, in which all three previous "Godzilla" films since 2014 and "Kong: Skull Island" from 2017 were set. The series itself is called "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" and tells a story that spans three generations between the 1950s and the present day. The series is therefore not a direct sequel to "Godzilla vs. Kong", but a prequel that aims to close the historical gaps between the films that have appeared so far. Sounds exciting.
Nothing works anymore. That's not just what they say at the roulette table in the casino. It's also currently being heard in Hollywood, where the authors and actors are striking. This has already led to a number of film and series releases being postponed. Most recently, for example, "Dune: Part Two".
The film will be released in Japan and the USA on 3 November and 1 December respectively. Because that's pretty soon, Toho Studios has released the first trailer. And with 3.1 million views within 24 hours, it's causing quite a stir. Not just because the trailer looks damn good. But also because Toho Studios is breaking with an almost 70-year-old tradition: the Japanese Godzilla looks lifelike for the first time. So closer to Hollywood's digital version and further away from the guy who performs judo throws in a silicone costume.
Not much is yet known about the story of the 30th "Godzilla" film from Toho. Only that "Godzilla Minus One" is set shortly after the Second World War and therefore before the first ever "Godzilla" film, which was released in Japan in 1954. Yep, that's how old the iconic "Godzilla" series is. "Minus One" is therefore a prequel, but is still intended to function independently and tell its own story.
It is striking that Toho Studios is retaining the tone to which it returned almost ten years ago with "Shin Godzilla". After all, "Godzilla" was originally not just a trashy monster film, but an allegory of the Japanese trauma of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Or: a walking apocalypse. It was only later that the giant lizard with atomic breath became a monster, but one that (more or less) fights alongside humans against other monsters.
"Shin Godzilla" and "Godzilla Minus One" are therefore a return to the origins. For a monster film, "Shin Godzilla" in particular is a surprisingly strong critique of the state. In particular as a criticism of Japan's helplessness and inability to react adequately to the reactor disaster in Fukushima in 2011. However, it is not known whether "Godzilla Minus One" also intends to be critical or "just" a monster horror film. However, the trailer looks really dark.
