Next year marks the incredible 70th anniversary of the Godzilla franchise. In celebration of this, Toho has just dropped the first trailer for an upcoming film, Godzilla Minus One, which is set to pay homage to the so-called King of Monsters.
The teaser might be short, but it certainly packs a punch, giving fans a taste of what’s in store when Godzilla Minus One hits theaters. Set in post-war Japan, this film brings back the awe-inspiring power of Godzilla, as hinted at in the teaser trailer and poster. As the caption in the trailer aptly puts it, the return of Gojira takes a nation that believed it had faced it all “from zero to minus.”
Godzilla Minus One will be the 37th installment in the epic, long-running franchise, the 33rd flick produced by Toho, and the fifth in the Reiwa era. It’s also the second live-action film in the Reiwa era, which started in May 2019, following Emperor Naruhito’s ascension to the throne.
The franchise currently holds the Guinness World Record for the longest continuously running film franchise since 1954. While Japan has been the primary source of kaiju mayhem, American productions have played a crucial role in bringing the monster into mainstream pop culture. Director Roland Emmerich kickstarted the American era with the 1998 film, Godzilla, and since then, three more films have been released, with another one already in the works.
The highly anticipated sequel to Godzilla vs. Kong, titled Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, is set to hit theaters on March 15 next year. But before then, fans of the prehistoric reptilian monster will revel in Toho’s upcoming thriller, Godzilla Minus One, which is scheduled to make its grand debut in Japan on November 3, followed by a theatrical release in the United States on December 1.
