Image from Godzilla Minus One courtesy Toho.

Toho has handed the reins of its signature kaiju franchise back to Academy Award winner Takashi Yamazaki.

Yamazaki, who directed the superlative Godzilla Minus One, will helm a new movie in the Godzilla-verse for Toho. Regarded by some (definitely me) as the best Godzilla movie ever made, Minus One was released in 2023 to widespread acclaim, a worldwide box office gross of $116 million, and an Oscar for Best Visual Effects.

Toho posted a video on Twitter of Yamazaki announcing the upcoming project.

“Hello everyone, I have wonderful news,” the director says. “I’ll be directing the new Godzilla movie. Please stay tuned,” Yamazaki says in Japanese and English captions.

What we will be staying tuned for is any details on the project, including whether it is a sequel to Godzilla Minus One, which ended with the titular monster, recently dispatched by Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) and friends, reforming at the bottom of the ocean – something that would only happen if the filmmakers wanted to leave the door open for a sequel.

Minus One was Toho’s 33rd Godzilla movie and the 37th by any studio, and remains the highest-grossing Japanese Godzilla film. The Toho movies are unrelated to the franchise films from Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment.

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