Toho is planning sequels to multipleGodzillamovies. Toho is a Japanese production company that is best known for theGodzillafranchise, which follows a giant irradiated lizard who is alternately depicted as a rampaging avatar of destruction or a valiant hero who defends humanity from other monsters.
Altogether, there are 33 JapaneseGodzillamovies(which feature a variety of secondary monsters, including Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah) and five English-language installments, four of which are part of Legendary’s Monsterverse, which also features monsters and locations from theKing Kongmovies.
PerBloomberg, after distributing 2023’sGodzilla Minus Onethemselves and earning $116 million worldwide against a slim reported budget of just $15 million, Toho is pushing to own more of its content.This includes the planned sequel toGodzilla Minus One, which is currently in development.
However, Toho’s international head Koji Ueda also revealed that, in addition to the upcomingGodzilla Minus One 2,Toho’s plans include a follow-up to 2016’sShin Godzillaand an untitled project set in Southeast Asia. They are also continuing to work with Legendary on the Monsterverse’sGodzilla x Kong: SupernovaandMonarch: Legacy of Monstersseason 2.
What This Means For The Godzilla Franchise
Toho Is Breaking A Trend For The Current Era
This new update reviews that Toho is breaking a longstanding trend for theGodzillafranchise. In the initial run of movies in what is referred to as the Shōwa era (between 1954 and 1975),the movies were all loosely in continuity with one another, but this has not been the case for quite some time.
The second era, the Heisei era (1984-1995) had even tighter continuity, with the majority of the movies featuring the recurring character Miki Saegusa (Megumi Odaka). However, both the Millennium era (1999-2004) and the Reiwa era (2016–) have had most live-action installments either be reboots or directly follow the original 1954Godzillawhile ignoring any other continuities.
Between 1989 and 1995, the psychic Miki Saegusa appeared inGodzilla vs. Biollante,Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah,Godzilla vs. Mothra,Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II,Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, andGodzilla vs. Destoroyah.
When it was announced thatGodzilla Minus One 2was in development, it finally broke that trend after 20 years, since the release of 2003’sGodzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., which was a direct sequel to 2002’sGodzilla Against Mechagodzilla. However, by pushing for a sequel toShin Godzilla(which was a reboot that followed the Japanese government scrambling to handle the devastation when Godzilla arrives in Tokyo),Toho is now embracing two distinct continuities in the Reiwa era.
Our Take On The Godzilla Update
Shin Godzilla Deserves A Sequel
Ultimately, it makes sense thatGodzilla Minus Onewould get a sequel. In addition to being a box office hit, it earned the franchise’s best ever Rotten Tomatoes score with a Certified Fresh 99% and becamethe firstGodzillainstallment to win an Oscar(Best Visual Effects, in 2024).
However, it is gratifying that Toho is embracing both live-actionversions of Godzillathat came to Japan in the 2010s and beyond.Shin Godzilla, which is also Certified Fresh at 86%, is one of the most genuinely thrilling movies of the entireGodzillafranchise and deserves just as much love from the production company asMinus One.
