Godzilla is officially heading back to New York. Film at Lincoln Center has announced that Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus Zero” will make its world premiere as the Spotlight Gala selection of the 64th New York Film Festival.
The premiere will take place September 26 at Alice Tully Hall, with Yamazaki and members of the cast and crew expected to attend. NYFF64 runs September 25 through October 12.
A sequel to 2023’s “Godzilla Minus One,” the new film picks up in 1949, two years after the events of its predecessor, and continues the story of the Shikishima family as they confront another catastrophe. Film at Lincoln Center is promising a sequel that expands the monster-movie spectacle and visual-effects work without losing the human-scale postwar drama that made “Minus One” such an unexpected international success.
“It is truly an honor to introduce our film to a global audience for the first time in a place of such history and prestige,” Yamazaki said in a statement. “I am filled with both awe and excitement to see how far the power of Japan’s Godzilla can terrify audiences around the world, and whether they will resonate with what lies beyond that fear.”
“More than 70 years after the first Godzilla movie, Takashi Yamazaki continues to prove that there’s life in the old franchise yet, returning to its postwar roots to locate a haunting, primal terror,” NYFF Artistic Director Dennis Lim added. “Like its predecessor, ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ is a throwback blockbuster, a showcase for human drama and innovative craft, and we are excited to have its world premiere as this year’s NYFF Spotlight Gala.”
“Godzilla Minus One” revitalized the long-running Japanese franchise by returning Godzilla to the immediate aftermath of World War II and building its destruction around a group of survivors still confronting the physical and psychological wreckage of the war. The film became a major crossover hit and won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, making it the first Godzilla movie to receive an Oscar.
Yamazaki, who also served as the film’s visual-effects supervisor, returns to write and direct “Minus Zero.” The filmmaker began his career at the visual-effects company Shirogumi before making his feature directorial debut with 2000’s “Juvenile.” His other films include “Always: Sunset on Third Street,” “The Eternal Zero” and “Stand by Me Doraemon.”
GKIDS will release “Godzilla Minus Zero,” although a wider theatrical release date has not yet been announced.
NYFF64 tickets for the general public go on sale September 15 at noon ET. Film at Lincoln Center members and festival pass holders will receive earlier access, with membership required by August 28 to qualify for the presale.
