Godzilla Minus One’s writer and director Takashi Yamazaki has been announced to be returning for a new Godzilla film for Toho’s next major project, and it really should avoid being a straight sequel to Godzilla Minus One. As Toho celebrates the milestone 70th anniversary of the long running Godzilla franchise, their newest feature film effort was the most successful in those 70 years to date. Godzilla Minus One was the most financially successful Japanese produced Godzilla film, was the best reviewed by critics, and even nabbed the Godzilla franchise its very first Academy Award. So it’s not entirely surprising to find that Toho wants to work with Yamazaki again on a new film.
But what makes Godzilla Minus One so special, and every Godzilla film in fact, is that they are largely contained within a single film. There might be some continued threads between some entries in past eras, and Legendary’s MonsterVerse has found success by offering direct sequels for its own films, Godzilla Minus One‘s particular brand of success is not something that can be replicated. It’s a film that strikes a balance between nostalgia and the modern kaiju boom, and trying to revisit that is only going to result in a sequel that’s just not as good.
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Godzilla Minus One Can’t Be Made Again
Godzilla Minus One is a special film that can’t really be made again. As part of the celebration for its milestone anniversary, it takes a perfect angle in picking up right after the events of World War II as Japan is in recovery from everything that happened. It places the characters in a very notable emotional state that’s both real, and pliable enough to then throw Godzilla and chaos into it as a result. It’s through this nostalgia that Godzilla Minus One is also able to feel entirely modern, yet still make it have the unique tone of classic Godzilla films.
Godzilla Minus One‘s version of the titular kaiju is an immediate threat making this war torn world even worse, and that’s really only a story you can tell a single time. If Godzilla shows up again following the events of the film, it’s just another thing that the people of Japan have to deal with an overcome. It won’t have the real-world emotional impact that this first film does. And in fact, would then minimize Godzilla’s impact because Godzilla would be quite literally retread the same ground in a sequel.
Shikishima and Noriko’s story in Godzilla Minus One was one of the main reasons fans loved the film. The two made a connection with one another following the war, and essentially formed a makeshift family. It was a light of hope among all of the death and destruction they had been through, and the end of the movie gave them their happy ending. If they’re put through the wringer again in a sequel, then it would almost seem cruel to these characters that fans loved so much. It’d be best to then focus on a new set of characters and a new story in general.
There Should Be a New Godzilla Story Instead
What makes Godzilla such a special franchise is that even after all of these films, and all of these various eras, there are still new stories to tell. Godzilla Minus One found such a particularly great story to tell that it would make sense on paper to at least chase that success with a sequel continuing that story. But in practice, there’s no much else to explore with these characters. Shikishima, Noriko, and the rest of Japan’s story was told within that victory over Godzilla itself. It was their hope and perseverance in the face of fear, death and destruction.
Although there’s a final scene that teases that Godzilla itself is far from defeated, it’s the kind of tag that doesn’t necessitate a sequel. Fans might remember that Shin Godzilla ended with the lingering threat still being possible, and that’s kind of just the vibe for the franchise. Godzilla might be defeated (or might do the defeating depending on the era), but will always be around. It’s a force of nature that can never truly be stopped, and a direct sequel addressing this would only be spinning its wheels. It would just feel forced.
Therefore the best approach is to then do what the other films have done in the past and just create a brand new story. Yamazaki can even set it within the Godzilla Minus One world, and even use the same version of Godzilla as the antagonist (or even protagonist depending on the idea). But the film should follow a new set of characters dealing with everything. As we’ve learned from the Monsterverse, following the same characters through every film yields less and less return each time.
Godzilla should always stay an unknowable, unbelievable force of nature. If you have a character who has dealt with it before, that mystique is lost. You need a new set of eyes to properly convey the majesty of such a being, and new characters with new stakes and stories would be the best way to do that. Let Shikishima and Noriko have their ending. If this next Godzilla is going to be just as devastating as seen in Godzilla Minus One, don’t make the survivors go through it again. It was already an inherently cruel concept executed in the first film, so to double it up wouldn’t make for a great viewing experience.