After Godzilla Minus One left a colossal footprint of success at the global box office, director Takashi Yamazaki is ready to make his first step into English language cinema. The leading Japanese filmmaker will be working alongside Sony Pictures on a new project called Grandyear, but details are being kept under wraps.
As reported by Deadline, Yamazaki is writing, directing, and producing the original screenplay, with Glen Zipper and Bad Robot’s J.J. Abrams also producing. Sony landed the distribution rights following a competitive bidding war based on various factors, such as the studio’s commitment to theatrical releases and its close Japanese ties through its parent company.
The project joins a slate that includes Kraven the Hunter, releasing 12 December, and a fourth Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland, which begins filming in Summer 2025. No release date has been set for Grandyear.
The increased demand for Yamazaki comes as no surprise, considering how Godzilla Minus One made history as the first Japanese language film to win an Oscar for Best Visual Effects. The film has a 98 percent score from both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics praising its take on post-war horrors and in-depth characterisation.
A sequel is currently in the works, and while details about it remain sparse, the enigmatic conclusion of the first movie sets up more room for narrative exploration. The final scenes show a mysterious mark creeping along the neck of protagonist Shikishima’s love interest, Noriko, played by Minami Hamabe, and it’d be interesting to how the story develops further from there.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
