Though only a few seconds of footage has been released, it’s apparent that Godzilla Minus One is already taking inspiration from Legendary’s reboot. In addition to revealing the title for its new Godzilla film, the studio officially unveiled its latest take on the King of the Monsters. In showing off his new look, Toho has provided a brief glimpse at its vision for its next incarnation of the monster icon.
So far, very little is known about exactly what Toho has planned for Godzilla Minus One. Since it’s been confirmed that the movie will take place after World War II, it’s obvious that it intends to adapt some form of his classic origin story involving the atomic bomb. Further details, however, remain under wraps. For now, it has all the makings of another retelling of the 1954 Godzilla original where the monster, born from nuclear radiation, attacks Japan and forces the military and the nation’s scientists to come up with ways to stop his rampage. Potentially, Godzilla Minus One’s plot could go deeper than that, but it’s hard to say if that will be the case.
Godzilla Minus One Is Already Copying 1 Part Of Godzilla 2014
Regardless of the story it picks for Godzilla’s next outing in Toho’s franchise, the Godzilla Minus One trailer indicates it’ll be taking at least a page or two from Legendary’s MonsterVerse playbook. The scenes included in the footage capture the towering and menacing nature of Godzilla, but avoid showing him fully. This sheds light on how its portrayal of him will work. From the looks of things, it’ll be taking a more human perspective to the action, showing the kaiju from the point of view of the characters, an approach famously employed by Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla reboot in 2014.
Of course, it’s possible that Godzilla Minus One is purposely hiding a full-body look at the monster, but it’s worth noting that how it brings his face into focus is reminiscent of the 2014 film. From the looks of things, Godzilla’s close-up happens as his head comes crashing toward a bridge, which would seemingly bring him face-to-face with the humans. Edwards pulled off a very similar scene in the 2014 movie when Godzilla arrived in San Francisco. One of its best looks at Godzilla was set up due to him nearing the Golden Gate Bridge, which was high enough for people to see him clearly from the waist up.
Godzilla 2014’s Human Perspective Helped The MonsterVerse’s Success
This sort of filmmaking technique isn’t altogether common with Toho’s films. Typically, Toho’s Godzilla movies would show him from multiple angles in order to perfectly capture whatever he was doing in that moment. As for the MonsterVerse, it hasn’t always followed Godzilla so closely. In many sequences in the 2014 version, viewers saw what the characters themselves witnessed, meaning that multiple shots were from a ground view. This aspect of the film was met with high praise from critics and audiences alike, considering that it was a unique way of illustrating the larger-than-life element of the character.
It also enabled the movie to give Godzilla more of a looming presence in the story, while also justifying the long waits for him to show up. By using this formula, Godzilla Minus One stands to benefit greatly, as it too will have a way of building suspense and in turn, lean on Godzilla’s horror movie roots. This worked out extremely well for Godzilla, hence why it was incorporated in some degree into his next two MonsterVerse movies, so it makes plenty of sense for Toho to follow in its footsteps with Godzilla Minus One.
Godzilla Minus One Isn’t Trying To Reinvent Godzilla
Another key decision that contributed to the popularity of the MonsterVerse’s take on Godzilla is the simple fact that the movie didn’t go to great lengths to reinvent him. Admittedly, it did morph him from a product of nuclear radiation into an ancient force of nature, but his overall image and design were in line with the general expectation of a Godzilla adaptation. The MonsterVerse was careful to ensure that he maintained the essence of the monster who had graced the screen so many times in Toho’s movies. Deviating too much from Godzilla’s legacy had a lot to do with the failure of the 1998 remake. The MonsterVerse didn’t repeat this mistake – and was better for it.
In a sense, it was more accurate to Godzilla’s image than even Toho’s own reboot of the franchise. Shin Godzilla made extreme alternations to Godzilla’s design, making him grotesque in appearance, turning him into a mindless killing machine, and giving him multiple transformations. Godzilla Minus One, on the other hand, is comparably more faithful in regards to Godzilla’s design. Based on what’s been shown so far, it’s not trying to reimagine him for a modern audience or offer a whole new take on him. Rather, it’s putting a greater emphasis on honoring the traditional Godzilla, as evidenced by the familiar ridges on his head, his face, and the shape of his dorsal fins.
Like The MonsterVerse, Will Godzilla Minus One Make Him A Hero?
On the surface, it appears that the connections between Godzilla Minus One and the MonsterVerse will end there since the trailer implies Godzilla is the villain of the story. Similar to its last adaptation, Shin Godzilla, Toho could be utilizing Godzilla once more as an evil force of destruction. If so, that’d be in stark contrast to what Legendary did. The MonsterVerse notably pulled from Godzilla’s sequels – more so than the 1954 classic itself – by portraying him as a heroic figure in its universe. Theoretically, Godzilla Minus One could also honor that side of the character by pitting him against an unseen threat lurking in Japan.
Despite the trailer’s hints about his role, Toho taking this route in Godzilla Minus One is certainly plausible. After all, it’s important to keep in mind that the early marketing for the 2014 movie was able to generate the same impression. Legendary kept its main plot ambiguous for a while and hid the role of the MUTOs. It was easy to assume from the trailers that Godzilla was the humans’ primary concern, but the MUTOs turned out to be the real threat. It’s not hard to imagine Toho trying something similar with its reboot, which could reveal that the atomic bomb created a second monster. If that happened, Toho’s Godzilla may get to save Japan for the first time since Godzilla: Final Wars in 2004.
Key Release Dates
#Tohos #Godzilla #Movie #Copying #MonsterVerse #Reboot #Great
