The resounding success of Godzilla Minus One propelled Takashi Yamazaki into the international spotlight. And Marvel, always on the lookout for talent, courted the Japanese director.
After marking the year 2023 with its Godzilla Minus OneTakashi Yamazaki attracted the attention of major Hollywood studios. His Kaiju Eida was acclaimed by both critics and audiences, and grossed $116 million in worldwide box office revenue on a budget of $15 million. The film won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, and Godzilla even won the heart of Christopher Nolan.
By succeeding in reinventing the myth of Godzilla with an approach that is both human and spectacular, Yamazaki has consolidated his reputation as a filmmaker bankable. A success that could not escape the American studios, fond of foreign talent capable of injecting a little fresh air into their well-established recipes. Recently, Takashi Yamazaki confirmed that he was in charge of the sequel to Godzilla Minus Oneand during an interview on this subject, the director revealed that he had been contacted by the Marvel team.
Only Godzilla Forgives
Since the release of Godzilla Minus Onethere were many rumors that Takashi Yamazaki had been approached by several major Hollywood studios. Names like LucasFilms and Marvel Studios had been mentioned. During a conference that the director gave at Godzilla Fest 2024, the report of which was published on the site VirtualGorilla, he confirmed that Kevin Feige, big boss of Marvel, had approached him.
« The president of Marvel said to me, “Wadatsumi! » (laughs) [du nom de l’opération finale visant Godzilla dans Minus One – NDLR]. Wadatsumi is good. He told me, “We meet every day to see if we can make something like this happen.” I think these are just empty words.«
Seduction operation at Marvel
Takashi Yamazaki therefore did not take Kevin Feige's invitation seriously. The director also declared that he gave up a contract offered by a famous American studio, which he did not name, becausehe preferred to devote himself to the continuation of Godzilla Minus One. He did not specify whether this “big offer” American came from Marvel Studios or another entity.
The question that remains is “what would Marvel do with Yamazaki?” “. Kevin Feige's stable likes to have big, widely identifiable names on the posters of its films: Kenneth Branagh for ThorSam Raimi for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of MadnessJoss Whedon pour Avengers et Age of Ultron…
And the love we have for Rocketeer forces us to cite the presence of Joe Johnston at the controls of Captain America : First Avenger.
But beyond the name affixed next to the title of a film, what control do directors who go through the MCU box really have? Can we find Raimi’s touch at Dr Strange ? Is it that Thor is really a Kenneth Branagh film? Without cynicism or sarcasm, it is simply a question of whether a director can really impose his artistic views in an MCU that is already extremely dense, and which must meet specifications that are surely as thick as a bible in order to be validated in high places. .
Et If Marvel had recruited Yamazaki, what type of project would he have been given? Certainly not one of the big titles expected by fans, since the director is not sufficiently identified by the general public to be able to claim to provoke a compulsive purchase of cinema tickets at the mere sight of his name. Phases 5 and 6 are already well established for the MCU, it would perhaps have ended up with a series project, or a film dedicated to a second-tier hero in Marvel's order of priority (a Nova? a Shang-Chi 2? or a spin-off on one of the X-Men?…).
But this is just pure speculation. While waiting for Yamazaki to decide on artistic exile in the United States, he is in charge of the rest of Minus Onea film for which there is currently no release date.
