‘Shin Godzilla’ American Trailer Teases The Return Of Godzilla To Theaters [Video]


The Shin Godzilla American trailer teases the return of Godzilla to theaters. It is the first Japanese-made Godzilla movie since 2004’s Godzilla: Final Wars. This film has no connection to the 2014 American adaptation of Godzilla. The last Japanese-made Godzilla movie to receive a wide release in the U.S. was the 1999 film Godzilla 2000: Millenium. Posted last week by Funimation, the U.S. distributor of Shin Godzilla, the trailer already has over 170,000 views on YouTube.

Despite the popularity of the trailer, some dedicated Godzilla fans were disappointed that there was little new action to be found in the video. Most of the footage seen in the trailer has already been featured in the Japanese trailers for Shin Godzilla. The trailer seems to be primarily aimed at those who have not yet heard about the new movie. Film critic and writer Evan Saathoff notes in Birth Movies Death that the Shin Godzilla trailer “is cut with a real teaser feel, as though the reveal of the big guy is supposed to be this big deal. In reality, we’ve been checking him out for months and months.” Saathoff is uncertain how he feels about the presentation of the trailer.

“…all the weird cuts to human faces that represent like 80% of this trailer… gives me the idea that they’re selling camp… for the most part that’s not the Godzilla I want. A Godzilla that only fights the military is also not high on my want list, which makes this movie I was once so excited about more and more a dubious proposition. Godzilla himself looks super cool, but that doesn’t mean the movie will be… We’ll all find out soon enough how this new iteration of the character ranks among all his others. I’m going in a little bit negative but my fingers are crossed nevertheless.”

Saathoff also notes “You do have the old school theme song represented, which is nice.” This is something of a big deal for Godzilla fans, as it is the first time since 2004’s Godzilla: Final Wars that any part of the original score for Godzilla has been featured in a film. Both Godzillla: Final Wars and the Shin Godzilla trailer feature music from the 1954 original Godzilla movie. The 2014 American adaptation did not use any of the music from the original Japanese movie series. It is not totally clear if this was due to legal reasons or simply to distinguish the American film from its original source material.

Funimation, the studio that is distributing Shin Godzilla, specializes in Japanese media, especially anime. It’s no surprise then, that their trailer highlights the involvement of Hideaki Anno. Anno who created the popular anime series Evangelion, is co-directing the film with Shinji Higuchi, who worked on the live-action adaption of the anime Attack on Titan.

Here is Funimation’s official synopsis of Shin Godzilla, which hints at some interesting secrets.

“It’s a peaceful day in Japan when a strange fountain of water erupts in the bay, causing panic to spread among government officials. At first, they suspect only volcanic activity, but one young executive dares to wonder if it may be something different… something alive. His worst nightmare comes to life when a massive, gilled monster emerges from the deep and begins tearing through the city, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake. As the government scrambles to save the citizens, a rag-tag team of volunteers cuts through a web of red tape to uncover the monster’s weakness and its mysterious ties to a foreign superpower. But time is not on their side—the greatest catastrophe to ever befall the world is about to evolve right before their very eyes.”

Godzilla fans won’t have to wait too long to discover the full truth. Shin Godzilla will be coming out in less than a month. Funimation has been promoting the upcoming release on Twitter with a countdown featuring scenes from the past 20-plus Japanese Godzilla movies.

Shin Godzilla will be in U.S. theaters for one week only, from October 11 through October 18. You can find theaters and showtimes at the Funimation’s official website for the movie.

[Featured Image via Funimation]

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