Audiences have held a fascination for monster movies for decades now and the reigning champ arguably remains Godzilla, the true king of the monsters. The gargantuan creature first appeared on screens in Ishiro Honda’s 1954 classic Godzilla, which is still celebrated today for its incorporation of both political and social themes.
A franchise was born with that film from the Japanese film production company Toho Co Ltd and we have seen the icon return to the screen countless times in all sorts of incarnations.
Of course, most recently audiences were reacquainted with the behemoth in one of its most spectacle-driven smackdowns to date, Godzilla Vs Kong in 2021.
Fans have been eager for a return ever since and Newsweek reports that the legendary kaiju will stomp into a brand new movie next year.
With that in mind, is the 2023 Toho Godzilla movie a sequel to Godzilla Vs Kong?
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Is Toho’s 2023 Godzilla movie a sequel to Godzilla Vs Kong?
No, the untitled Toho Godzilla film will not serve as a sequel to Godzilla Vs Kong and will be separate from the Godzilla universe that the Adam Wingard-directed blockbuster depicts.
To explain, the Toho Godzilla franchise has offered fans a whopping 32 Godzilla movies since the series began. Three of these are animated – Planet Of The Monsters, City On The Edge Of Battle, and The Planet Eater – and were released in 2017 and 2018, whereas the last live-action film was Shin Godzilla in 2016.
Directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, audiences were thrilled because it was the first live-action Godzilla film from Toho since Final Wars in 2004, 12 years earlier.
However, Godzilla Vs Kong takes place in the Legendary Pictures Monsterverse which began with Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla in 2014 and was followed up by Godzilla: King Of The Monsters in 2019.
So, you have your Legendary Monsterverse and then the Toho franchise as separate entities.
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A Shin Godzilla sequel is unlikely
Those expecting the forthcoming Toho movie to be a sequel to Shin Godzilla may also be disappointed because Bloody Disgusting reports that Toho’s Keiji Ota previously said follow-up plans may be sacrificed to expand the world of Godzilla further:
“After 2021, we’re thinking of a potential strategy that [releases] Godzilla movies uninterrupted at a rate of every 2 years, although there is a preference for a yearly pace as well. The future of the series and its forwarding developments are very conscious of the method of ‘shared universe.’ Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah, etc. could all share a single world view much like a Marvel movie where Iron Man and the Hulk can crossover with each other.”
He continued: “Shin Godzilla was a huge hit, but instead of thinking of doing the obvious idea of making a Shin Godzilla 2, instead think about a world that can be used for a long time. I’d rather make a World of Godzilla.”
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Toho Godzilla 2023 release date and director
The untitled Godzilla project has already been given a release date of Friday, November 3rd 2023.
Not only that but we have a director!
Newsweek reports that Takashi Yamazaki is confirmed to be at the helm and he’s previously directed movies like The Great War Of Archimedes, Fueled: The Man They Called ‘Pirate’, The Fighter Pilot, Ballad, and more.
He also worked on visual effects for Shin Godzilla, so he’s no stranger to the beloved kaiju.
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The movie is scheduled for one year from today.
Toho, the company behind the creation of Godzilla, has announced a new film starring the King of Monsters set to release on November 3, 2023.
The announcement was a part of Godzilla Day 2022, and the official Godzilla Twitter account shared a logo for the new movie.
Takashi Yamazaki will direct the new Godzilla. The filmmaker has previously helmed Lupin III: The First, Parayste Part 1 and Part 2, and Dragon Quest: Your Story. This will be Yamazaki's first time directing a Godzilla film.
11.3.23 pic.twitter.com/H2uJo3gwHm
— GODZILLA.OFFICIAL [@Godzilla_Toho] November 3, 2022
The new film marks Toho's first Godzilla movie since 2016's Shin Godzilla. In our Shin Godzilla review, we said the movie, "provides a new origin for the legendary kaiju, establishing its own unique style while taking inspiration from the classics in all the right ways." The untitled 2023 Godzilla film marks the 33rd Toho Godzilla movie, and the 37th Godzilla movie overall.
On the American side of things, Warner Bros, and Legendary Pictures are working on a MonsterVerse sequel to 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong. The follow-up will see Godzilla and King Kong team up to fight "a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world".
The 10 Best Godzilla Movies
If you want to catch up on the enormous series of Kaiju movies, check out our list of the Godzilla movies in order. Or, if you just want the best of the best, read our list of the top ten Godzilla movies.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
Image: Toho Company