In 2016, Toho Pictures released their latest iteration of the Godzilla franchise, Shin Godzilla. Looking to contemporize the metaphor for Godzilla’s reason for existence, directors Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi crafted Shin Godzilla to be a pointed satire of the Japanese government bureaucracy that utterly fumbled the outcomes of two modern disasters: the Fukushima nuclear disaster and the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. Audiences and critics loved it, and Shin’s success essentially raised the bar so high for the franchise, Toho took its time deciding where to go next.
Enter renowned Japanese director and VFX supervisor, Takashi Yamazaki, who pitched Toho Pictures a period piece Godzilla story that coincides with the very end of WWII. With the country decimated, Godzilla Minus One presents the worst-case scenario of the prehistoric monster suddenly appearing with its predatory, nuclear-level rage set on mainland Japan. It’s already earning rave reviews from Japanese audiences and Godzilla (2014) director Gareth Edwards, who recently told Cinema Today, “There were a lot of things that I thought were very new, and I was feeling jealous the whole time I was watching it.''
Ahead of the recent U.S. world premiere of Godzilla Minus One, Yamazaki and his star, human actor, Ryunosuke Kamiki (Spirited Away), sat down with IGN to discuss that incredible reaction and more.There are no story-specific spoilers in this interview so it's safe to read before the Dec. 1 release in theaters if you want to go in pure.
Yamazaki-san, Toho Pictures took six years to commit to its follow-up after Shin Godzilla. What specific idea inspired your take?
Takashi Yamazaki: I'm not sure if you're aware but in my previous work [2007’s Always: Sunset on Third Street 2] Godzilla had a little appearance. Technically that was my first nibble with Godzilla. And so when I began conversation with Toho, Shin Godzilla was an absolute success so I was feeling some pressure with that follow up. It was just really about the right timing of it. But I was definitely feeling the pressure after Shin Godzilla, but I think this is the right time to do Godzilla Minus One.
Idea-wise, what came to you first: the human story of haunted kamikaze pilot Kōichi Shikishima (Kamiki) or some aspect of the Godzilla mythology unexplored?
Takashi Yamazaki: I definitely laid out the human stories first. And then we went back and said, “Okay, Godzilla appears here, and appears here. All right, what are you going to do with this scene?" So that's how we broke it down.
Was Godzilla Minus One’s more personal story a reaction to Legendary’s more global monster battle approach?
Takashi Yamazaki: That's something I was very conscious about from the beginning, that literally, Godzilla is a massive existence in the film. And things get out of balance when you move to the Godzilla story within a movie, and then the human stories go back and forth. I was definitely conscious about hitting a really good balance between what's going on with Godzilla and the human story. And also, with the visual effects. We're in the age of digital effects so you don't have to be wearing costumes, necessarily. With that background, I wanted to really push the limits of how fearful we can make Godzilla look with our VFX technology today.
Kamiki-san, you’ve built such an impressive career across genres. Was being in a Godzilla film a career aspiration, or was it Yamazaki-san’s pitch that swayed you to play Shikishima?
Ryunosuke Kamiki: I was invited by the director [to be in] this film. Personally as an actor, I've never had any desire to be in a specific franchise, or a story, or anything like that. But the director and I have worked on a film called Ghost Book (2022). We were able to work together for a short bit, but to be able to work on a full feature, all the time, with the director was something I could not pass up.
Also the director, he did [Sunset on Third Street 2] where Godzilla makes an appearance. For this work, I had actually gone and auditioned for him as a child. So this could have been my comeback revenge audition and booking!
For many of the ocean sequences and especially the minesweeper crew, the spirit of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws feels very present in this film. Did that film inspire your writing or directing of Minus One?
Takashi Yamazaki: Yes. There's definitely influence from Spielberg and Jaws. It probably comes out in a very subconscious way at this point. As you point out, I have a VFX background. I grew up on VFX movies coming out of the U.S. in the ‘80s. And so watching one of his films — and where VFX was at — it sent a huge shock to my creative system. And that's where it set me off onto the course I am now. But as a VFX artist, I am always looking to give the audience that shock factor I had when I first watched a Spielberg movie, so that's definitely there.
Kamiki-san, were there specific films Yamazaki-san asked you to watch to prepare for this film, for perhaps tone examples?
Ryunosuke Kamiki: In general, no. There was no specific movie that we used as a reference between ourselves. I really approached the character of Shikishima as just such a unique character in unique circumstances. Of course, when we're on set, the director and I would flesh out more details about him. The director did add that I go on the Godzilla ride [editor’s note: Yamazaki-san’s created Godzilla the Ride: Giant Monsters Ultimate Battle for Seibu-en theme park]. It is really, really fun.
How many Godzilla directors have seen your film so far and who were you most nervous to screen it for?
Takashi Yamazaki: Actually, Gareth Edwards was in Japan for work and as soon as he landed, he pretty much wanted to go see it. The words I received was that he was "jealous," which, as a filmmaker, is a very nice thought.
And then, Hideaki Anno, who directed Shin, saw it. He told me that it was good. I checked back with his crew, and apparently for him to say something is "really good" is a very big deal. So he really liked it.
Godzilla Minus One opens in US theaters on Dec. 1.
