It is, by now, inarguable that Japanese filmmaker Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One – which he not only wrote and directed but also served as the special effects supervisor – stands as one of the crowning achievements of international cinema this decade, and perhaps even this century.
Set in postwar Japan, Yamazaki’s film is this century’s definitive depiction of the legendary kaiju Godzilla, with a surprisingly human, grounded story (something at which the Western films have tried but not quite succeeded), garnering universal acclaim from critics and audiences alike, while also earning an estimated $114 million USD at the global box office against a shockingly modest budget of between $10 and $13 million budget. Such a budget is all the more astonishing when you consider the extensive use of CGI, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Special Effects and endures as a visual and budgetary marvel.
When making the sequel, Godzilla Minus Zero, which is slated for its Japanese release on November 3rd, Yamazaki was faced with the unenviable task of trying to top its predecessor, which the filmmaker acknowledged in a recent interview with Empire.
Notably, Yamazaki was quick to credit none other than Canadian filmmaker James Cameron and his approach to sequels, specifically Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, as his biggest inspiration for how to go about Godzilla Minus Zero:
“He looks at the original and finds another interesting hook point and digs much deeper. Oftentimes his sequels will take a slightly different angle, but still rooted in a lot of what was built in the first film. I was curious how his second films are outperforming the originals in a lot of ways.”
As a huge fan of both Aliens and Terminator 2 and their respective franchises, I can testify that this is an incredibly astute observation of Cameron’s approach to sequels, even those with Avatar in the title, though as to whether or not those sequels surpass the original is far more debatable.
Speaking of Canadian legends, it has been revealed that Keanu Reeves is in talks to star in James Wan’s upcoming adaptation of the South Korean action crime thriller by Lee Won-tae, The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil. As the title hints, the film centres on a gangster and a cop who team up for their own reasons to catch a serial killer, AKA “The Devil.” This will mark Wan’s first feature film since 2023’s lacklustre Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom.
Some big-name producers are also attached, including Sylvester Stallone, Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions, and Lorenzo di Bonaventura, the latter of whom I recently reported is making a film adaptation of the video game Cyberpunk 2077, which, as it happens, could potentially feature Reeves reprising his role as Johnny Silverhand. Another notable producer is Ma Dong-seok, better known as Don Lee in the West, who is one of the biggest film stars in South Korea and played “The Gangster” in the original film, a role he will be reprising in this remake.
As such, Reeves will play either “The Cop” or “The Devil,” though it stands to reason that a bona fide action star of Reeves’ calibre would likely be considered for the heroic cop role, especially given that Shay Hatten, who has co-written the screenplays for John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum and John Wick Chapter 4, will be part of the team penning this adaptation and clearly knows how to put Reeves to paper in heroic action roles. The impressive screenwriting team is rounded out by the Oscar-winner Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential) and Marvel go-to Eric Pearson (Thor: Ragnarok, Black Widow, Thunderbolts*, Fantastic Four: First Steps).