Godzilla Minus Zero

Godzilla Minus Zero (ゴジラ) is an upcoming Japanese kaiju film written, directed, and with visual effects supervised by Takashi Yamazaki. A sequel to Godzilla Minus One (2023), it is the 39th film in the Godzilla franchise, the 34th film by Toho, and the sixth installment in the franchise's Reiwa era. The film stars Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe, reprising their roles from Godzilla Minus One.

Following the international success of Godzilla Minus One, Toho announced in November 2024 that another Yamazaki-helmed Godzilla film had been greenlit. By February 2025, Yamazaki had begun screenwriting and storyboarding the follow-up. In April 2025, Toho International's president, Kōji Ueda, clarified that the new film would be a sequel, planned for a 2026 release. Principal photography commenced in August 2025 and wrapped by December, taking place in Japan, New Zealand, and Norway. It became the first Japanese production filmed for IMAX. The film's title was announced in November 2025. Shirogumi is handling the visual effects.

Godzilla Minus Zero is scheduled to be released on November 3, 2026, in Japan, and November 6 in the United States.

Production

Development

Godzilla Minus One (2023) was seen as a major success in Japan and the Western world, becoming one of the highest-grossing Japanese films of all time and winning the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects among its many accolades. On November 1, 2024, the film's director Takashi Yamazaki was confirmed to helm another Godzilla film, first announced during Godzilla Minus One 's Japanese television broadcast on Nippon Television's Friday Road Show.[8] At that time, Toho did not disclose if it would be a direct sequel to Godzilla Minus One or a standalone film.[9] At the 23rd Visual Effects Society Awards on February 11, 2025, Yamazaki revealed scripting and storyboarding of his follow-up was ongoing and expected a budget higher than that of Godzilla Minus One 's, which cost less than US$15 million.[10]

Pre-production

In June 2025, the Agency for Cultural Affairs–commissioned "Film Staff Development Project" disclosed that filming for Yamazaki's next movie would take place from early August to December 2025, and they were seeking film students to recruit.[11] On July 17, Bloomberg News reported that Toho International's president, Kōji Ueda, clarified that the new Godzilla film would be a sequel and a 2026 release was currently planned.[12] On July 27, the site yamazakimovie-extra.jp was launched to find volunteer extras for the film from August to September. It recycled the Blockbuster Monster Movie (temp) (超大作怪獣映画(仮)) placeholder used for Minus One during pre-production and confirmed Toho would be financing with Robot Communications, featuring an all-star Japanese cast.[13]

The official website also initially contained metadata in its source code identifying the project as a Godzilla film and stating that Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe would return.[14]

Filming

Principal photography took place with extras on location in Ibaraki Prefecture from August 30 to September 14, 2025.[13] Additional shooting is set to take place in New Zealand and Norway, according to The Hollywood Reporter.[19] Filming was expected to wrap in late December.[11] It became the first Japanese production filmed for IMAX. The film reportedly had an over US$15 million budget.

Extra recruitment reports also state that due to the film's historical drama setting, there would be restrictions on the extras' costume sizes, hairstyles, and hair colors (with hair dyeing being prohibited) for those participating as extras. A scene featuring Japanese maintenance soldiers was shot at a temple in Maizuru on November 3, which was Godzilla Day in Japan.[20] Filming occurred around Seijōgakuen-mae Station on November 25,[21]

alt	Film poster showing a gigantic brownish cloud featuring a bright yellow light at the top left and blue beaming light at the middle right, with the film’s logo, the letter G like its predecessor, alongside the number "0.0" in the middle, and the release date at the bottom.
director	Takashi Yamazaki
writer	Takashi Yamazaki
producer	Kazuaki Kishida‡R1R‡
starring	Ryunosuke Kamiki Minami Hamabe
music	Naoki Satō‡R1R‡
studio	Toho Studios Robot Communications
distributor	Toho
country	Japan
language	Japanese English‡R2R‡
budget	US$15 million+

Godzilla Minus Zero

Premise

Cast

Production

Development

Pre-production

Filming

Release

Marketing and promotion

External links

References