Godzilla goes large in ‘Minus Zero’

Godzilla, sci-fi’s legendary King of the Monsters, returns to post-war Japan in Godzilla Minus Zero, an R-rated movie releasing today (6 November 2026).

The film, a direct sequel to 2023’s Godzilla Minus One, is screening in Ster-Kinekor cinemas, Nu Metro theatres and at The Bioscope.

The production is the first Japanese-language movie filmed specifically for Imax. Director, screenwriter and visual effects supervisor Takashi Yamazaki worked with Imax during production. The movie was shot with Imax-certified high-definition digital cameras, while image and sound were optimised for the format. Imax says 75 minutes use the expanded aspect ratio.

The production continues Yamazaki’s collaboration with Japanese visual effects studio Shirogumi, which handled the effects work. Robot produced the movie.

Yamazaki’s visual effects team won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for Godzilla Minus One. The 2023 movie became the highest-grossing Japan-produced Godzilla film worldwide, earning more than $116-million.

The new story takes place in 1949, two years after the previous movie. Japan has begun recovering from the war and Godzilla’s devastation, while Koichi Shikishima and his family try to rebuild their lives.

Ryunosuke Kamiki reprises his role as former kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima, alongside Minami Hamabe as Noriko Shikishima.

Hidetaka Yoshioka returns as Kenji Noda, now director of the Disaster Response Bureau. Yuki Yamada, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Sakura Ando and Miou Tanaka return as Shiro Mizushima, Seiji Akitsu, Sumiko Ota and Tatsuo Hotta respectively.

New characters include Min Tanaka as Kanji Murakami, a biologist carrying psychological scars from the war, and Masami Nagasawa as Makoto Aoyama, a weather forecaster assigned to the Disaster Response Bureau. Jun Kunimura joins the cast as Dr Ogata.

* Jason Bannier is a data analyst at World Wide Worx and deputy editor of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Bluesky at @jas2bann.