Godzilla has enjoyed a strong representation over the years, but the kaiju is set to take his final bow in Godzilla Minus Zero. The first full trailer for Takashi Yamazaki’s sequel to his 2023 Oscar-winning reboot teases that “there is no third time. Everything ends here,” which can only mean one thing — all-out action and tension to close out with a resounding bang.
Following an earlier tease of Godzilla’s globe-trotting rampage in New York, the new clip opens with confirmation that the kaiju was not fully defeated: “We didn’t finish the job like we thought,” says Hidetaka Yoshioka’s Kenji Noda. Several scenes of carnage later, a familiar screech can be heard before a character remarks, “Don’t worry, this isn’t Godzilla we’re talking about”.
Unfortunately, there’s a real reason to worry, because the call comes from King Ghidorah. The three-headed monster doesn’t appear in the trailer, but fans will recognise it anywhere, and with a shot of Godzilla falling from the sky, a climactic showdown between them seems to be in store. A new character named Makoto Aoyama, played by Masami Nagasawa, is also introduced and described as “a genius weather forecaster assigned to the Disaster Response Bureau.”
Per the synopsis, Godzilla Minus Zero is set two years after the first film, after “the country has faced agonising struggles to achieve recovery and finally reclaim its daily life. Just as humanity managed to cling to a hard-won peace, a new threat strikes, crushing hope in an instant. There is no third time. Everything ends here.”
Returning as the previous protagonists, Shikishima and Noriko are Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe, respectively, joined by Iida Motosuke’s Akio Itagaki, the Toyo Balloon section chief who contributed to the extermination effort in Godzilla Minus One. Other notable newcomers include Kunimura Jun, Maehara Ko, Misuhashi Kenji, Okuno Eita, and Inowaki Kai.
Shot entirely in Japan, the upcoming sequel marks the first domestic production filmed for IMAX. It will make its world premiere at the 64th New York Film Festival on 26 September, before opening in Japan on 3 November. For fans in Singapore, 5 November is the date to remember.
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.
Kevin Low
