Godzilla Minus One Director Teases Oscar-Worthy Team-Up for Next Movie

Takashi Yamazaki, the director of the Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One, is currently hard at work on the eagerly anticipated sequel — will it be called Godzilla Minus Two? But, in between making the follow-up to one of the most celebrated kaiju movies of the past few years, Yamazaki took a break to celebrate another beloved East Asian filmmaker, Bon Joon-ho, at the Japanese premiere of Mickey 17. As well as sharing his praise for Joon-ho’s new movie (which stars Robert Pattinson, Naomie Ackie, and Mark Ruffalo), Yamazaki also teased that another project may be in the pipeline with a legendary team-up that we didn’t know we needed.

Speaking at the premiere (via Pia), Takashi Yamazaki first praised Bong Joon-ho’s work on Mickey 17, saying, “I was excited to see what would happen to Mickey until the very end, and it was really interesting.” The Japanese director even said he “thought this was the monster movie of the future. I learned from that movie how to incorporate family love into a monster movie.” This incited a heartwarming back-and-forth between the pair, which could lead to a giant new movie.

Could Takashi Yamazaki and Bong Joon-ho Team Up for a New Kaiju Movie?

After hearing Takashi Yamazaki’s kind words about Mickey 17, Bong Joon-ho went on to praise the Japanese director’s beloved kaiju hit, Godzilla Minus One. “I was very impressed by how well it portrayed humans and history,” Joon-ho said. His praise is mirrored by the film’s fans, as the human aspect of Minus One was heavily praised in the critics’ reviews and audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and Letterboxd.

In response to Bong Joon-ho’s praise, Takashi Yamazaki revealed that he wants to team up with the South Korean filmmaker for a new kaiju movie. “Let’s continue making monster films together!” Obviously, Yamazaki’s sentiment is far from confirmation that the pair are working on a movie together. However, fans of both directors are very excited about the prospect of a full-scale kaiju film co-directed by the duo. Would it include Godzilla, or could it be an original story?

[RELATED – Godzilla Minus One Director Confirms New Project (And What This Means For The Minus One Sequel)]

Godzilla Minus One 2 Is In the Works

A sequel to Godzilla Minus One was greenlit shortly after the film’s unprecedented Best VFX win at the 2024 Academy Awards, where it beat Gareth Edwards’ The Creator and the MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Last month, Yamazaki gave his latest update on the project.

Not only is the script and story for Godzilla Minus One 2 (or Godzilla Minus Two) in development, but the director and his team have also begun storyboarding the sequel. Additionally, Yamazaki said he is expecting a much larger budget for the second installment. Godzilla Minus One was famously made for just $15 million, which just about covers the catering budget on a Marvel movie. It will be exciting to see what Takashi Yamazaki can achieve with more financial freedom.

H/T: Pia