Toho Announces A New Godzilla Movie For 2023

Today is Godzilla Day, a day to remember those who were lost to the mighty kaiju who just loves to destroy Tokyo, a day to celebrate and be thankful for the giant lizard monster that has saved Tokyo and the world just as many times as he's destroyed it, and a day to re-watch the original "Godzilla" film, released this day in 1954.

Though Godzilla has never really gone away, he is enjoying a bit of a resurgence. There are the new American films that expanded the world of Toho's kaiju in baffling, but also exhilarating ways, and also what may very well be the best "Godzilla" movie in decades: "Shin Godzilla." That movie in particular — the third reboot of the franchise — co-directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, brought a level of human perspective, political and social commentary, and satire we hadn't seen in a long time, plus a new redesign for the big boy with an absurdly and comically large tail as well as the cutest (or weirdest) googly eyes.

Of course, nothing can be left well enough alone, and studios will inevitably try again and again to replicate the success of the good films rather than accept they can't be copied. So, much like the kaiju that forced Godzilla to return time and time again only to be utterly destroyed by him, it seems Toho is trying its hand at making a new "Godzilla."

Toho's official Twitter page announced that a new "Godzilla" film is in production. Though we know nothing of the plot, we do know that Takashi Yamazaki will be directing, writing, and handling the visual effects of the new film, the 32nd Godzilla film in the long-running franchise. Yamazaki is no stranger to the franchise, having helmed visuals for the "Godzilla the Ride: Giant Monsters Ultimate Battle" at the Seibu-en amusement park. He has tackled effects-heavy films before, helming live-action adaptations of popular anime and manga franchises like "Parasyte" parts one and two, and the "Space Battleship Yamato" film. 

Curiously, the announcement doesn't specify if the film will be live-action. While it is easy to presume given Yamazaki's resume and the prominence of live-action films in the franchise (and the long history of Godzilla as a pillar of the tokusatsu genre), the director has also done some impressive animated films that have successfully rebooted hugely popular franchises, from "Stand by Me Doraemon," to "Dragon Quest: Your Story" and "Lupin III: The First" all in 3DCG animation — done rather well, in fact.

And is not like "Godzilla" is a stranger to animation. After all, there is the (rather underrated) cartoon from the '90s, and more recently, a trilogy of anime films, and a fantastic anime show on Netflix (which deserves a new season). Whatever the case may be, more Godzilla is always a good thing, even if it has an uphill battle to reach the heights of Anno and Higuchi's "Shin Godzilla."

The new "Godzilla" film is set to be released on November 3, 2023.