You read the title. Godzilla Minus One is my favorite Godzilla movie of all time (and yes, I’ve seen them all).
And, as somebody who’s seen every Godzilla movie from every era, I can tell you that I’ve noticed some trends – and not necessarily good ones. This is important, since, as a Godzilla fan, I always want the best for the King of the Monsters. And, with the aptly titled follow-up, Godzilla Minus Zero, there are a few things that I think could make this movie even better than the last one.
So, with that said, give me your best Godzilla roar, and let’s begin!
Have This Sequel Directly Follow The Events Of Godzilla Minus One
While details are still super scarce for this upcoming movie, there are two things that we know for certain. 1: It will be helmed by Godzilla Minus One director, Takashi Yamazaki, and 2: Toho is shooting for it to come out in 2026. But, that’s pretty much all we know (Though there are rumors that it will also shoot outside of Japan in Norway and New Zealand).
So, with so little news out there about the film, one of the key things that we don’t know yet is how long this sequel will take place after the events of Godzilla Minus One. Because not every Godzilla era is the same when it comes to continuity. For example, the early Showa Godzilla movies have a continuity of sorts, but the Heisei era has a much closer connection between films.
The Millennium movies mostly bounce around (except for Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and its sequel, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.), and the current Reiwa era isn’t connected at all…unless you count the animated Godzilla movies…but not the Netflix animated series, Godzilla Singular Point, which has no connection! Then, you have the MonsterVerse Godzilla movies, which are ALL connected.
So, for this “sequel” (IS it even a sequel? Or is it a prequel? I mean, it’s called Minus Zero, not Minus Two), I think it NEEDS to stay with the story and characters from the last movie in order to really work and be successful. Don’t be like Godzilla and smash it all to pieces. BUILD upon what came before, with the same time period and the same characters. Oh, and speaking of characters…
Make Sure It Stays Focused On The Same Human Characters As Well
Okay, so one reason why I loved Minus One so much was because of the human characters. Koichi (Ryunosuke Kamiki), Noriko (Minami Hamabe), Noda (Hidetaka Yoshioka), and the whole cast really made me invested in the story and rooting for the humans, which is something I never experienced before in a Godzilla movie.
The MonsterVerse movies seem to struggle with human characters making multiple appearances, but at least characters HAVE reappeared. In the Toho films, we have a few, like Miki Saegusa (Megumi Odaka) in the Heisei era, and Dr. Kyohei Yamane (Takashi Shimura) from the original Godzilla movie, who is referenced quite a bit and briefly appears in Godzilla Raids Again. But really, the human characters often play second fiddle to the kaiju, which makes sense. I mean, who goes to a kaiju movie for the humans (Well, except for Cloverfield)?
However, in order for this follow-up to be even better than the original, I think it needs to follow the lives of the original characters. For instance, I want to know if Noriko and Koichi take care of the orphaned child together. I also want to know if Koichi will fight Godzilla again, or if he feels it’s somebody else’s responsibility…only for him to fight again.
I think this is important since I feel Minus One told a complete story, but still left room open for more story. And, if we don’t get that story, my mind will keep going back to it, wondering what COULD have happened, and I don’t want that.
I’d Also Like To See How The Rest Of The World Reacts To What Happened In Godzilla Minus One
Now, I mentioned how there’s a rumor that Godzilla Minus Zero will be filming outside of Japan, and I really hope that’s the case, since I would love to see this next movie take place somewhere other than Japan (I even saw a Godzilla show while I was IN Japan, so that just tells you how much they love their big G back home).
However, I think that given the realistic approach that Minus One took, there HAS to be some kind of global response following the events of the previous film. The last movie made it seem like other world leaders didn’t care that there was a potential world-destroying monster.
However, if this is a sequel, then I want to see how the rest of the world would respond if Godzilla reappeared. I highly doubt that the rest of the world would just allow Japan to fight the monster again by itself if it came back, because there could be more monsters below the surface. And, if that were the case, then the rest of the world would have to respond in some way.
I’d especially love it if Godzilla didn’t emerge again in Japan but came out somewhere else. Perhaps his body was growing again in the Atlantic Ocean. Either way, I’m eagerly anticipating the rest of the world to fight this version of Godzilla. But, do you know what I’m NOT anticipating?
This May Sound Surprising, But Don’t Introduce Another Kaiju-Not Even Mechagodzilla
As somebody who is in love with pretty much all of Godzilla’s enemies, here’s something that may surprise you: I do NOT want Godzilla to fight another kaiju in this follow-up. And no, not even Mechagodzilla.
I have a pretty good reason why. You see, my favorite Godzilla movies are always the ones where Godzilla is the only threat. I feel that way about the 1954 film, I feel that way about the 1985 film, I feel that way about Shin Godzilla, and I feel that way about Godzilla Minus One. That’s because I think Godzilla movies are always at their strongest when he’s the main attraction.
That’s what I want to see for Godzilla Minus Zero. I know the most obvious thing to do for a sequel/follow-up is to have another kaiju fight Godzilla. That said, that’s not what Godzilla Minus One was about. In a lot of ways, Godzilla was almost a side character in his own movie, which I actually prefer.
I like how we closely followed the human characters. And, whenever Godzilla returned, you were scared for their lives. I want more of that, as I don’t want this movie to be silly, which adding more kaiju will likely do to this next installment – it might rob it of its seriousness (like several Godzilla movies in the past). So, don’t do that! Keep it with just Godzilla. It will be all the stronger for it.