Godzilla has never been more popular than right at this moment. With Legendary’s MonsterVerse currently bringing its first TV show,Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, to a close on Apple TV+, and preparing to bringGodzilla x Kong: The New Empireto theaters in 2024, the arrival of this year’s Toho release ofGodzilla Minus Onewas an unexpected box office winner.
Naturally, no matter what Hollywood does with the franchise, Toho will always have an edge on it, and their latest offering proved that by becomingthe most successful Japanese Godzilla movieever released in the U.S. In turn, that leads to question of when the King of the Monsters will be wreaking havoc once more, and the word from Toho is not good for those with little patience.
As perGQ Japan,Godzilla Minus Oneproducer Minami Ichikawa discussed the future of Toho’s Godzilla projects, commenting on the “Godzilla Room” set up in 2019 to focus on new Godzilla content, which extends far beyond just live-action movies. That means there could be quite a wait until the next movie, as, in Ichikawa’a words, there is no “need to rush things too much.” He said:
“A few years ago, there was an animated Godzilla movie, and in the future we will continue to realize various new ideas such as publications, merchandise, and collaborative products. However, as for the next live-action movie, I personally don’t think there’s any need to rush things too much. After all, movies are all about the power of the work. We have a good idea, a good script, a good director, and a good cast, and we want to work on it carefully. After all, Godzilla is a character that is worth that much.”
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How Godzilla Minus One Delivered Its Monster Box Office
Godzilla Minus Onebecame not only one of the highest rated Godzilla projects ever released, but also the most successful Toho Godzilla release in the history of the franchise in terms of its U.S. box office. When it comes to the reasons why the movie proved to be such a hit, the biggest is the fact that the movie sets out to bea Godzilla movieand delivers the monster front and center. While the MonsterVerse is busy pulling in as manykaiju creaturesas it can fit on screen,Godzilla Minus Oneopens with Godzilla causing destruction on the island of Odo at night, moves on to an attack at sea, and then puts him in the heart of Tokyo for more building crushing chaos.
Combined with accomplished acting from its human stars, and a classic design for the big guy himself, it is really hard to find anything to fault with the movie’s execution for long-time Godzilla fans and those who aren’t completely in awe of the MonsterVerse’s procession of CGI goofery.
As the first international movie to top the U.S. charts in almost two decades,Godzilla Minus Onehas set the bar extremely high for Toho’s future releases. This perhaps makes it clear why there will be no rush to get cameras rolling on their next Godzilla thriller. However, those who want something to plug the gap in the meantime will find the MonsterVerse movies and a selection of early Toho Godzilla movies streaming on Max and available as VOD purchases on sites such as Amazon, and recent animated offeringsGodzilla: Planet of the Monsters, Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle, andGodzilla: The Planet Eaterare all available on Netflix.
