Godzilla has always been popular, especially lately , but Godzilla Minus One did so much for him 2023. Critical acclaim, more eyes on the original Japanese version of the character, and VFX Oscars followed, along with questions about what director/writer Takashi Yamazaki would do next. Not just within moviemaking, but what he’d do next with Godzilla specifically.

That answer’s come in this weekend’s Godzilla Minus Zero . Jumping ahead to 1949, the sequel sees the major surviving characters of the first film still reckoning with Godzilla’s rampage and what WWII has done to Japan. Unfortunately, a new monster’s arrived and started destroying cities, leading Kōichi, Noriko, and Noda find themselves pulled into the plan to stop that and a returning Godzilla.…