Fans of Godzilla, you’ve got an entire kaiju buffet to choose from. Legendary’s Monsterverse is serving up Apple series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, while Adam Wingard’s big-screen sequel Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is right around the corner. And then there’s Toho who is bringing the O.G. franchise back with Godzilla Minus One later this year.
Writer/director Takashi Yamazaki’s take is a throwback to those kaiju classics that served as a metaphor for Japan’s post-war recovery after the atomic bombings. The film takes place in the fallout of WWII when a struggling recovery is made staggeringly worse by the arrival of Godzilla, stomping flat an already-devastated country.
In this trailer there’s a very clear emphasis on the visual devastation caused by nuclear attack, and that feels like a statement that is being made. Mainly, though, Godzilla looks like an absolute monster and not like he’s destined for a cool team-up movie crossover.
Here’s the synopsis: Japan, devastated after the war, faces a new threat in the form of Godzilla. How will the country confront this impossible situation?
The film stars Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, and Yuki Yamada.
Godzilla Minus One opens in theaters on December 1st, but will be available on November 29th in select IMAX locations.
