Godzilla Minus Zero is now tearing its way through theaters worldwide with one of the best box office openings for Toho’s long running franchise yet, and the star behind Noriko, Minami Hamabe, opened up to ComicBook about her character’s big change in the sequel film. Godzilla Minus One introduced Noriko to the franchise as someone who barely survived one of Godzilla’s initial attacks, only then to reveal she indeed was able to make it out of all of that alive in the end. But as revealed in the sequel, that came with some unexpected side effects.
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Godzilla Minus Zero reveals that Noriko was able to survive the film thanks to the G Cells that had made it into her body, and she had subsequently mutated as a result. Speaking to ComicBook about this change in her character and her resulting link with Godzilla as a result, Hamabe explains that while Godzilla is positioned differently in this sequel due to this impact on Noriko and the arrival of a new threat, Noriko herself is still far from seeing the famous kaiju as a hero of some sort as it’s still a “symbol of fear in a lot of ways.”
Godzilla Minus Zero‘s Noriko Talks G Cells and Link to Godzilla
“Noriko for me still sees Godzilla as this symbol of fear in a lot of ways,” Hamabe began. “It represents fear itself, and it’s threatening everything that the characters in post-war Japan are trying to rebuild.” Elaborating on this threat, Hamabe explained that while Noriko’s direct link to Godzilla changed her perspective on it, this is still far from seeing it with anything other than object fear, “So I think there’s still a very strong hatred towards Godzilla and what it represents in Minus Zero because Noriko and Godzilla now have this link, it certainly changes slightly, but I don’t think that means Noriko sees Godzilla in any positive light.”
Digging into it further, Hamabe then revealed just how complex of a situation it really is for Noriko, “And for audiences who are seeing it, I think you can kind of feel there’s a very complex feeling that Noriko has towards Godzilla whenever even the word or idea of Godzilla crosses her mind on screen.” Although there’s a new threat that makes Godzilla seems like the lesser of two evils, it’s still something that Noriko doesn’t want to call on even with her connection, “Especially because she understands with King Ghidorah in the mix now, Godzilla is positioned differently in the larger landscape. But all said, I think Godzilla is still something that Noriko doesn’t want to see at any moment.”
Will Godzilla Minus Zero Get a Sequel?
Although all of the promotional materials for Godzilla Minus Zero touted that there would not be a third film to cap off a trilogy, the final moments of the film are clearly setting up for the next phase of the story. Koichi and Noriko have since escaped the clutches of the United States government, and her direct connection with Godzilla and the G Cells makes her more important that ever before. Especially because it’s clear that the G Cells also won’t be keeping Noriko alive forever. There’s a time limit on it all.
It’s possible for this take on Godzilla to end here, but it also seems like there’s still much more to explore for both Koichi and Noriko as the two of them just want to live peaceful lives after everything their small family has been through. But would you want to see the Godzilla Minus franchise returning for a third film? What would you want to see go down in it? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments!
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