Godzilla has earned his title as the king of the monsters more often than we can count at this point. With Japan seeing major success thanks to the arrival of the recent Academy Award winning film, Godzilla Minus One, North America’s MonsterVerse is giving the giant beast plenty to tackle as well. In a recent report from Bloomberg, it appears as though the lizard king’s parent company, Toho, is planning to invest some serious cash to spread the “good news” of Godzilla worldwide. Not only will Toho be spending nearly one billion USD on Godzilla in the next few years, you might be surprised to learn what projects are coming for the behemoth.
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When it comes to Godzilla’s “content development,” aka movies, animation, and mobile games, the king of the monsters will receive around half a billion dollars to give the King of the Monsters an expansion within these platforms. On top of this hefty investment, Toho confirms that it is also spending around one hundred million USD on avenues such as attractions, merchandise, and video games. On top of these major investments, Toho is also planning to move full throttle on creating the beloved sequel to Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One, whose cliffhanger had quite a few interesting threads for the universe’s future.
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The Success of Minus One
Toho has plenty of reasons to start investing in the future of Godzilla as recent financial reports prove. Godzilla Minus One, and the other projects affiliated with the king of the monsters, gave Toho its biggest fiscal year to date, helping to net the company over two billion USD for 2024. The studio is looking to aim even higher in the near future as it is hoping to increase its sales by “10% by 30%” by 2032, which will coincide with Toho’s one-hundredth anniversary.
While Godzilla Minus One’s sequel has been confirmed, little has been revealed when it comes to the story details and/or release date for the kaiju’s comeback. Last year, in chatting with outlet Empire, director Takashi Yamazaki hinted at the fact that the main character might have some big challenges to face in the future. “I know that Shikishima’s war seems over, and we’ve reached this state of peace and calm – but perhaps [it’s the] calm before the storm.” When last we saw Shikishima, he had helped blow Godzilla to pieces, but the Minus One kaiju was seemingly reforming beneath the ocean’s depths, meaning that the lizard king is sure to return as a major threat to Japan in the upcoming sequel.
On top of the King of the Monsters reconstituting itself in the murky depths, there’s another big hook that gave viewers an idea of where Minus One’s future is headed. Noriko Oishi, the female lead of the movie, is revealed to be alive following a devastating attack by Godzilla. In a strange twist, it appears as though the lizard king left its mark on Noriko as she returns with a strange mark on her person, potentially hinting at her having a bizarre connection to the kaiju.
Want to stay in the loop when it comes to all things kaiju? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on Godzilla and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.
