As we await the new trailer for Godzilla Minus One (2023), dropping tonight, the teaser for the trailer revealed some interesting hints at the movie's story. Here's some of the biggest reveals so far:
1947?
A message to the Prime Minister of Japan is dated, "10 February, 1947." Although we've known for some time that the film would take place immediately after the post-war in the late 1940s, this is the first time we've been given a definitive year as to when the film takes place.
The letter indicates Godzilla is heading toward Japan from the south as monitored by the U.S. and allied forces. How do we know it's the U.S. addressing the Prime Minister?
Gen. MacArthur
The letter seems to have been written by General Douglas MacArthur. General MacArthur fought Japan in the Pacific War, but in 1945 he also worked closely with Emperor Hirohito to establish peace during the post-war, U.S. occupation. During that time the United States re-wrote the Japanese constitution, fed its people and disarmed the nation with the promise of protecting it.
It's worth mentioning that the U.S. occupation is still going on in 1947 as Godzilla makes way toward Japan. Will America be responsible for defending Japan in this Minus One?
"From the South"
As mentioned in MacArthur's letter, Godzilla seems to be swimming from the south. A map indicates he's swimming from the Ogasawara Islands, which would be under control of the United States Navy until 1968. Though the teaser seems to indicate the attacks of Japanese fishing boats, it might be possible Godzilla is also slicing through U.S. Navy as well. A report over a "torpedoed" submarine seems to hint that military casualties have been involved.
Though this all my be moot very soon, you can take a look at the teaser yourself. What other hints do you find? Anything we may have missed? Let us know!
Set in a post-war Japan, Godzilla Minus One will once again show us a Godzilla that is a terrifying and overwhelming force. Japan, which had already been devastated by the war, faces a new threat with Godzilla, bringing the country from nothing (zero) into the ‘minus.’
Godzilla Minus One is directed by Takashi Yamazaki. An award winning filmmaker and avid Godzilla fan, his work on Always: Sunset on Third Street (2005) earned him two Japanese Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Screenwriter. He was honored with another Best Director and Best Screenplay nomination for the sequel, Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (2007). In 2016, he won the Best Director category again for The Eternal Zero. Yamazaki also helmed highly acclaimed actioners, Returner, Space Battleship Yamato and many other.
He gave Godzilla a cameo during an opening dream sequence in Always: Sunset on Third Street 2. In 2021 he returned to Godzilla and directed footage for Seibuen Amusement Park's Godzilla the Ride: Giant Monster Battle Summit.
Godzilla Minus One opens in Japan on November 3rd, 2023, Godzilla Day.
It opens in the United States on December 1st, 2023.
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