Shin Godzilla

"Japan vs. Godzilla. (ニッポン対ゴジラ. )"

- Tagline

Godzilla: Resurgence シン・ゴジラ (Shin Gojira) is an upcoming 2016 Japanese produced by Toho Company Ltd., and the thirtieth installment in the Godzilla series, as well as the 29th Godzilla film produced by Toho. It will be released to Japanese theaters on July 29, 2016.

Development
The film was revealed through Godzilla.jp. The movie will be in production from summer to autumn 2015. In addition, Toho inaugurated "Godzi-Con" to discuss and determine strategies for future Godzilla films, including this one. On March 31, 2015, it was officially confirmed that Hideaki Anno, known for his work on the popular and infamous anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, would be writing the screenplay for the film and serve as executive director, and that Shinji Higuchi, who provided the special effects for the Heisei Gamera trilogy, the upcoming Attack on Titan live-action films, and a scene in Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, would be the film's director as well as the director of special effects. It was also said that the version of Godzilla in this film would exceed the size of Legendary's Godzilla, making it officially the largest Godzilla ever on film. On July 31, 2015, Bandai Creation confirmed that it would be producing and releasing figures for the film in the United States in 2016.

In an interview with the Associated Press conducted on July 31, 2015, Shinji Higuchi revealed that Hideaki Anno had recently completed the film's script, and that filming would begin in September. Higuchi stated that he was under strict orders not to reveal any specific details about the film, but he did state that Godzilla would be portrayed in the film using a combination of computer graphics and traditional tokusatsu techniques, a style that Higuchi called "hybrid," which he also utilized to portray the Titans in the recent live-action Attack on Titan film. Higuchi stressed that he wanted to create the most terrifying depiction of Godzilla possible with the resources available to modern Japanese cinema, to reflect the world's recent "loss of innocence" from modern real-life tragedies like the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the tsunami and nuclear disaster in northeastern Japan, which Higuchi called "the real monsters of the world."

In the 2015 Tsuruoka Kamakura Hachiman Paper Lantern Festival, a Godzilla paper lantern signed by Hideaki Anno could be found. It read "・ゴジラ・再上陸 Godzilla Relanding!"

Filming began on September 6, 2015 at the Kamata Railway Station, from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

The next large-scale shooting was on September 20, 2015, at the city of Utsunomiya in the Tochigi Prefecture of Japan. The shoot lasted from 5:00 AM to 10:00 PM.

On September 22, 2015, the film's official title was revealed to be Shin Gojira シン・ゴジラ, which translates to New Godzilla in English. According to executive producer Akihiro Yamauchi, the title was chosen to exemplify how the film is a "rebirth" or "revival" to the franchise. Hideaki Anno reportedly decided upon the title to bring about various meanings. On the same day, three of the main cast members were also revealed. Hiroki Hasegawa, who played Shikishima in Shinji Higuchi's Attack on Titan, was cast as the lead, a man working for the Japanese government when Godzilla appears. Japanese Academy Award-winning actor Yutaka Takenouchi was cast as another government operative, while actress Satomi Ishihara, who played Hange Zoe in the Attack on Titan film, was cast as an American agent. Toho also launched an official website for the film.

Toho screened a test reel for the film at the annual American Film Market (AFM) in Santa Monica, California, which ran from November 4th-11th. It was at this festival that Toho revealed the official English title of the film, Godzilla: Resurgence.

On December 9, 2015, Katsuro Onoue, special effects director under Shinji Higuchi for the Attack on Titan films, tweeted a teaser poster for the film, featuring a close-up of the new Godzilla's face along with the film's Japanese title and a release date of July 29, 2016. This poster reveal was soon followed by the release of a brief teaser trailer featuring footage from the Kamata Station shoot and the 1954 Godzilla's roar. The new head design for Godzilla is heavily based on his 1954 design and preserves the traditional maple-leaf shape of his. Unlike previous designs, this Godzilla has countless rows of jagged sharp teeth in his mouth, giving him a much more grotesque and savage appearance. His eyes are also much smaller than previous suits. That same day, it was also revealed that the new Godzilla's official height was 118.5 meters tall, making him officially the tallest Godzilla to appear in a film.

On December 10, Toho's official website revealed that Shiro Sagisu had been selected to compose the film's score. Sagisu had previously worked with both Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, scoring Anno's Neon Genesis Evangelion series and Higuchi's Attack on Titan films.

Theatrical Releases

 * Japan - July 29, 2016