Toho Announces Return of Godzilla Franchise With New Film in 2023

That thunderous roar you just heard in the distance? Why, it’s the King of the Monsters awakening from his latest slumber, because Japan’s Toho Co. just announced that Godzilla is going to be back in action in 2023. In fact, the as-yet untitled film already has a release date, of Nov. 3, 2023, exactly a year from today. Almost no details are known, other than a director: Prolific Japanese filmmaker Takashi Yamazaki, whose career since 2000 has included a wide range of live-action and animated projects.

Now, there are a few possibilities that Toho might choose to explore with this next Godzilla entry. Most significantly, we could be looking at a direct sequel to 2016’s Shin Godzilla, the last Japanese-made film in the series, and a very well-received one. That film took the Godzilla franchise in a significantly new direction, showing a startling evolution in the design of Big G himself, while also focusing on his destructive energy set against a human backdrop, rather than having Godzilla battling another giant kaiju. It’s a tense, chaotic film that depicts the bureaucratic government response to an inconceivable threat on the scale of Godzilla, while simultaneously making the monster look arguably the scariest and most disturbing that he ever has since he debuted in 1954.

At the same time, we wouldn’t be terribly surprised if this 2023 Godzilla entry is another fresh start for a new series, as Shin Godzilla (despite a major tease in its ending) feels like more on an experimental project intended to stand alone. It’s been since 2004’s Godzilla: Final Wars that Big G has faced off against other kaiju in a Japanese entry in the series, so you have to believe that Toho is probably itching to explore that market once again. Can we get the return of Gigan in a good movie, please? By the way, please enjoy the additional Godzilla hype of our ranking of every Godzilla film, along with our lamest-to-coolest ranking of every Godzilla monster.

Now, as for the American Godzilla movie series from Legendary Pictures, there’s still a Godzilla vs. Kong sequel from director Adam Wingard on the schedule, but it’s currently scheduled for March of 2024. This could be the rare opportunity for Toho, therefore, to beat its American competitors to the punch in delivering the next great Godzilla installment. We’ll bring you more info on this newly unveiled Godzilla project as it arrives, but in the meantime we’ll just say “welcome back” to the baddest monster around.

11.3.23 pic.twitter.com/H2uJo3gwHm

— GODZILLA.OFFICIAL (@Godzilla_Toho) November 3, 2022