“Godzilla Minus One” released in theaters Dec. 1, 2023. It immediately boosted the franchise’s popularity due to its amazing visuals, audio and the storyline of both humans and monsters. Following this massive success, a sequel is officially on the way, quickly becoming one of the most talked about upcoming projects among fans. With momentum already high, all eyes are on what comes next for the series.
A sequel to “Godzilla Minus One” carries a lot of weight, especially after how well the first movie was received by both audiences and critics. It proved that Godzilla stories can still feel fresh and impactful today, and the follow up has a chance to build on that momentum. For fans, it’s less about whether it’ll be good, and more about how it can push the franchise even further.
Many fans of Godzilla films are only fans of the Japanese films. This is due to the big change in Godzilla’s character from the Japanese films to the American films. The Japanese movies make Godzilla as the destructor or the villain of the story, while the American movies make Godzilla the one saving humans from threats and as the hero of the story. The American films introduce modern technology in each film, which makes some fans think the American films are repetitive.
“I feel like the new modern stuff could ruin it. It has potential. The Japanese movies have original stuff they don’t use,” Hayden WIlliams (9) said.
Godzilla fans love to analyze the movies and ask questions about the plot and the backstories. Most Godzilla films don’t show how Godzilla began, only showing that Godzilla is there and that he is either saving or destroying.
“It’s nice to see the history of Godzilla. Just because like in the other Godzilla movies, you just really don’t know how he came to be, he just like spawned in and was wreaking havoc,” Bishop Strayorn (9) said.
Media is a great influence on how a movie performs. Trailers, review bombing or predictions are great examples. The media tends to hype up a movie or dumb it down because of a bad trailer or an odd plot. However, this isn’t always true. Sometimes the media can hype a movie up and the movie will do better. Overall, it’s inconsistent. WIlliams (9) agrees with this claim.
“I feel like media can ruin the hype for it, but overall, I don’t really think it does,” Williams (9) said.
Godzilla is often captured, stopped or beaten by humans with technology or other monsters. This causes repetitiveness and a descending number of fans within the films. Godzilla fans love when Godzilla simply causes destruction in the films. For example, the atomic breath scene in “Shin Godzilla,” the attack on Ginza scene in “Godzilla Minus One”, all of “Godzilla Final War” and all of “Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.” These are all examples of when Godzilla wasn’t held back and he just wrecked everything.
“He’s always been held back by something, whether it’s a stronger enemy or just somebody stopping him. So he’s gonna be able to unleash even more than he already has in the past,” Strayhorn (9) said.
Monsters are the heart of Godzilla films. Not being able to see monsters in the films for extended periods of time can make fans annoyed or upset with the lack of the monsters. Williams (9) believes seeing Godzilla more would make this Godzilla stand out compared to others.
“Seeing Godzilla more would make it stand out. Not just seeing him for five minutes and then disappearing for another thirty,” Williams (9) said.
Repetitiveness in franchises tend to make series boring, especially since Godzilla has been going on since 1954. Changes to films will make the movies way more entertaining, especially with great writers.
“A lot of changes are happening with the Japanese movies, so I mean they’re not really ruining it. The new movies and series and stuff are adding more plot and detail to his original story. So I really think they’re doing a good job with it,” Strayhorn (9) said.
Godzilla has always been the face of monster films, and many fans appreciate or look forward to the continuation of its films.
