GoKawiilOne of the cinematic highlights of 2023 was director Takashi Yamazaki’s gloriously grounded kaiju epic, Godzilla Minus One, which became a major international hit and snagged an Oscar for best visual effects. Yamazaki is back this fall with the hotly anticipated sequel, Godzilla Minus Zero. Toho just dropped the full IMAX trailer, featuring not just our beloved Godzilla, but also a distinctive roar that teases the appearance of none other than the three-headed King Ghidorah.
(Spoilers for the 2023 film below.)
Godzilla Minus One focused on kamikaze pilot Kōichi Shikishima, who struggled with survivor’s guilt after he failed to take action when Godzilla attacked the Japanese base on Odo Island in 1945. Knocked unconscious, Kōichi woke to find he was one of only two survivors—and the other, a mechanic named Tachibana, was furious about it. His parents and many others were killed in the WWII bombing of Tokyo. Kōichi rebuilt a life with a woman named Noriko and the orphaned baby she rescued, Noriko. But then Godzilla re-emerged, and Kōichi resolved to die fighting the monster to atone for Odo Island.
Spoiler alert: Kōichi survived, thanks to Tachibana’s forgiveness and mechanical ingenuity. He reunited with Noriko, who had a strange black bruise on her neck. And we saw a chunk of Godzilla’s remains start to regenerate, leaving things open for a sequel. And now it’s here. Per the official synopsis for Godzilla Minus Zero: