'Godzilla Minus Zero' will show monster up close, director says

Godzilla will be closer to audiences than ever before in "Godzilla Minus Zero," the film's Japanese director said.

"I don't think we've ever been able to get this close to Godzilla before," Takashi Yamazaki told AFP in an interview on the sidelines of CinemaCon in Las Vegas.

Yamazaki said the legendary monster's roars — as well as the thunderous sound of his footsteps — will reverberate through theaters in an unprecedented way.

He said this is thanks to advancements in cinematic sound and visual effects in movie theatres, a place he described as Godzilla's natural habitat.

The director — who helmed the 2023 box-office smash "Godzilla Minus One," which earned an Oscar for Best Visual Effects — said bringing audiences back to the cinema is not a matter of personal taste but a responsibility for filmmakers.

"It falls partly on us — the filmmakers — to constantly create new experiences and provide reasons for people to want to go to the movies and spend their time there," he said after presenting a preview of "Godzilla Minus Zero" at the industry's annual convention in Las Vegas.

The new movie, set to hit US theaters in November, stars Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe, and is set in 1949, two years after the events of "Minus One."

The production centers on the Shikishima family, who, "at the beginning of the film, are truly happy."

"They have finally found a balance in what it means to be a family," Yamazaki said. "And then, once again, they are confronted with utter despair and a horrific tragedy."

The director added that audiences will be able to identify with the sheer effort required to summon the strength to recover and find the will to go on living. 

For the 61-year-old filmmaker, taking on a sequel presented specific challenges — chief among them, the task of outdoing himself.

"'Godzilla Minus One' was, fortunately, highly acclaimed and has become one of the most beloved Godzilla films of all time," he said. 

"That benchmark has become a new obstacle. Little did I know I was feeding my enemy," added the director.

But the chance to take a second pass at the monster gives him the opportunity to do things he couldn't last time around.

"I wasn't able to do everything with 'Godzilla Minus One,'" said Yamazaki. "So, one of my own new challenges is to put images and visuals on the screen that no one has ever seen before in a kaiju film." 

In the teaser the director presented at CinemaCon, Godzilla is seen face-to-face with the Statue of Liberty in New York.

The image caused a stir in the room, but Yamazaki cautioned that — beyond the expectations the clip generated — "the film will feature Japan much more than people imagine."

"That scene is very important for the character in the film, and it is a very impressive kind of scene," he added.

But "the focus was on the story, and on finding what was best for the narrative." 

In the streaming era, Yamazaki also insisted on the importance of the big screen for Godzilla -- and how the monster, having been born on it, could only truly be at home when he looms many feet tall on a giant projection.

"I think [Godzilla] really needs to rely on certain experiences that we can only have inside movie theaters," he said.