Over the next couple of years, Godzilla will feature in two movies, each being in franchises on distinctly different trajectories. Godzilla Minus One definitively set Toho’s current vision of the King of the Monsters apart from the direction Legendary is taking with him via the Monsterverse.
Whereas the Monsterverse has gradually come to embrace the campier side of Godzilla that fans of the kaiju remember from the 1960s and 1970s, Toho has instead opted to lean on his much darker and more serious roots, calling back to the 1954 original and the 1990s classics in Godzilla Minus One.
Their contrasting approaches are expected to continue when their respective interpretations of Godzilla returns to the big screen. Up next for Toho is Godzilla Minus One’s 2026 sequel, Godzilla Minus Zero, while Legendary will follow up Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire with Godzilla x Kong: Supernova in 2027.
Biollante Has Been Set Up As Godzilla Minus Zero’s Villain
Biollante plant beast form from Godzilla vs. Biollante
From the tone to the plot, there were fundamental differences between Toho and Legendary’s last Godzilla releases, Godzilla Minus One and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Minus One’s phenomenal success makes it extremely likely that its significantly more dramatic atmosphere will carry over to Minus Zero, but one thing that it probably won’t keep it its avoidance of monster villains.
Godzilla has gone without monster foes in his movies before, but if history is any indication, Toho won’t make back-to-back movies with the same interation of Godzilla battling humans, as it’ll be difficult to keep the action fresh. The director himself, Takashi Yamazaki, has even acknowleged the need for a monster villain.
As for who that would be, Biollante makes the most sense. Godzilla Minus One’s ending saw the female main character seemingly tainted with Godzilla’s DNA, which quite clearly laid the groundwork for Biollante, a plant-like monster genetically engineered from the cells of a dead young woman, Godzilla, and a rose in 1989’s Godzilla vs. Biollante.
Biollante Has A Lot In Common With Godzilla x Kong: Supernova’s Villain
Biollante would absolutely be an interesting choice for Godzilla: Minus Zero’s villain, and for reasons that go beyond her menacing design and compelling backstory. She’d be surprisingly similar in terms of the narrative she’d offer the movie to the plot Godzilla x Kong: Supernova is shaping up to deliver with its own villain, SpaceGodzilla.
A directory from the Writer’s Guild of America has effectively confirmed that SpaceGodzilla will be appearing in Godzilla and Kong’s next Monsterverse adventure. In addition to being a one-time Godzilla adversary like Biollante, SpaceGodzilla functions as a threat born from Godzilla’s own body.
Both Biollante and SpaceGodzilla are monsters whose power levels and destructive potential in the Heisei era are defined by the “G-cells” that gave them life. Because of that, Godzilla vs. Biollante and Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla had no trouble justifying the degree of danger that the two villains posed to Godzilla in their fight scenes.
All things considered, if Godzilla Minus Zero capitalizes on the setup from its predecessor, Godzilla’s next two movies will share that common theme found in Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla and Godzilla vs. Biollante.
Movie(s)
Godzilla, Godzilla 2, Godzilla 3, Shin Godzilla, Godzilla, Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla Minus One, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Godzilla Vs King Kong, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., godzilla: monster planet, Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, Godzilla: Final Wars, King Kong vs. Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Godzilla: The Showa Era Films, Godzilla vs. Biollante
Created by
Tomoyuki Tanaka, Akira Watanabe
First Episode Air Date
November 17, 2023
Cast
Akira Takarada, Momoko Kôchi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura, Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Kurt Russell, Wyatt Russell