Godzilla may be the king of all Kaiju, but these days, even the Big G himself has royalty above him: Takashi Yamazaki, the man who guided Toho’s legendary monster to one of its biggest and most successful years in 2023 with the record-breaking release of the amazing Godzilla minus one. Since breaking critical and commercial records for international cinema, Yamazaki has taken a windswept tour of the world. rub shoulders with Hollywood royalty, represent Minus one For his historic Oscar victoryand now, on the eve of the franchise’s 70th anniversary on November 3, he announces that he will return to direct a brand new Godzilla movie.

“If you look at the history of Japanese Godzillas, the last one, Shin Godzilladirected by Hideaki Anno, and even mine, I felt like the bar was set pretty high after what (Anno) did,” Yamazaki told io9 (via translator) while attending New York Comic Conbefore a panel discussion Godzilla minus onethe impact of on the franchise…and dancing around the fact that he would continue his Godzilla legacy with the then unannounced new film. “Now that it’s between Shin Godzilla And Minus oneWhatever Godzilla takes next, the bar will be set very high indeed. But I think there will be creators young enough to be up to the challenge that will take the franchise to the next generation, whatever that may be.

Read on to hear Yamazaki’s thoughts on the global appeal of Godzilla in all his forms (both from Toho and Legendary), how he made his Kaiju epic on a fraction of the budget of most Western blockbusters and, of course, his Kaiju Fashion Icon Moment on the red carpet earlier this year with those glorious Godzilla claw shoes.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

io9: What do you think of Western appreciation of Godzilla after everything you’ve been through? Minus one last year?

Yamakazi: I feel very good about the Western appreciation of Godzilla in general. I think about Godzilla, and what we were able to do with it Godzilla minus onereally showed that there are so many layers and thematic depth that we can in a Kaiju movie – I think it gave older generations something to think about, a cerebral core concept, but I think this extends to families as well, spanning generations. It gave people something to discuss and talk about the different themes covered. Minus oneso I think it helped change the perception of Godzilla in its entirety.

io9: There’s been a lot of talk here about how you achieved the film’s visual effects on a budget so different from that of American blockbusters. What were the challenges in implementing the scale of your vision in this regard?

Yamakazi: I know (Less A) seems really modest compared to Hollywood productions, but if you look at the Japanese live-action film scene, it was actually top-tier in terms of film budgets. We were able to access one of the biggest and best teams Japan had to offer. I think another reason is also, because it was Godzilla what we were dealing with, everyone bought a little extra, maybe 50% more than normal. “Oh, yes it is GodzillaI’m going to try a little harder, I think we can push the limits a little further.

For me personally too, I am working on Godzilla at this caliber is truly one of my life goals. Being able to achieve that really lit a fire and sparked something within the whole team. That, and being able to tap into one of the biggest Japanese budgets possible, allowed and empowered us to take the film where we wanted it to go.

io9: Is there anything you would have done differently with an American budget?

Yamakazi: It’s really hard to look back on a finished film and say, “Oh, I wish I could have done this or that differently,” if only because, given the constraints we had, everyone really brought his A-game. I don’t need a Hollywood budget, but if we had more, there would have been things that might have improved the environment and working conditions. There were different things we could have done, minor things that made things slightly different. But I wouldn’t look back on the movie and say, “Hey, I could have changed this or done that differently.” » I think we did our best, the best we could… that said, if there was A thing, I wish we could film it in full resolution for IMAX!

io9: One of the craziest things to come out of your Oscar appearance was your team’s Godzilla claw heels, which they’re selling now. How did they come about and what do you think about being a Kaiju fashion icon now?

Yamakazi: The producer of our film had actually worked with the brand and helped design something else on a different project, and he said, “Why don’t we do this for Godzilla too?” That was the beginning of the whole project. The brand, ha|za|mama, they made these amazing shoes that were shown at the Oscars. Sometimes when I was on the red carpet, I thought : “I’m going to take pictures of my shoes more than they take pictures of me.” Me! » It was so interesting. But again, seeing a Japanese fashion brand like that have a platform at the Oscars and take it from this one-off thing to something that fans can now buy and interact with. Godzilla in that way, it was a really cool journey to watch.

io9: Godzilla is all over the world right now—Minus onelegendary films, Apple TV+ show. Where do you think Godzilla goes from here? What does the series need to do to thrive and continue to evolve?

Yamakazi: To be frank, I’ve seen Godzilla through many different ages. I’ve seen it weather winters, so to speak, where the franchise was a little bit like, “Where is this going to take us?” But if you look at the landscape right now, at your point between Minus one, Godzilla x KongAnd MonarchI think that’s exactly the kind of balance. Godzilla needs as a franchise to withstand the next 10, 20, 30 years. The fact that he can be so diverse and open to so many different interpretations, it’s all still unified under this umbrella that is Godzilla. I think that’s what makes the show so strong, but at the same time, you don’t overuse or underuse the show: if you treat it too hard, you’ll lose the audience’s trust. Ensuring that we control this balance, while still allowing creators enough freedom to do what they need to do, will be very important for the future of Godzilla.

If you look at the history of Japanese Godzillas, the last one, Shin Godzilladirected by Hideaki Anno, and even my own, I felt like the bar was set pretty high after what (Anno) did. Now that it’s between Shin Godzilla And Minus oneWhatever Godzilla takes next, the bar will be set very high indeed. But I think there will be creators young enough to be up to the challenge that will take the franchise to the next generation, whatever that may be.

io9: One last question: what is your favorite Kaiju movie?

Yamakazi: War of the Worlds by Steven Spielberg. It was a huge culture shock for me when I first saw it. Wow, it’s so good. I don’t know if this falls under the traditional Kaiju genre, but I think so.

Godzilla minus one is available for streaming and purchase both digitally and on physical Blu-ray and DVD releases, as well as its black and white format. Less color reissue is now in theaters for a limited time to mark Godzilla’s 70th anniversary.

Additional reporting by Adriano Contreras.

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