When the Marvel Cinematic Universe returned to theaters on the 2024 movie schedule, it came back to a world where monsters had ruled the world. Between this year’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and the sleeper success of 2023’s Godzilla Minus One, the world of kaiju continues to see quite the renaissance. How do we know that those results have really made a dent in the world? Well, MCU mastermind Kevin Feige has apparently been influenced by director Takashi Yamazaki’s picture; an admission that is music to my ears.
Virtual Gorilla Plus was on hand during this year’s Godzilla Fest in Tokyo, which allowed the publication to see Yamazaki-San address the crowd. As the franchise is celebrating the 70th anniversary of director Ishirō Honda’s original film, there’s been some promising news, such as a now in-development sequel to Godzilla Minus One.
But apparently Takashi Yamazaki noted that foreign audiences loved the style of action shown in his award winning film, which seems to be reinforced by the following remarks from this meeting:
…Yes, they seem to like that kind of down-to-earth fighting style. … [Kevin Feige] told me, ‘We’re all having meetings every day to see if we can make it happen like that.’ I think it’s just lip service.
Takashi Yamazaki, Godzilla Fest, via Virtual Gorilla Plus
Now it’s no secret that some see the Marvel Cinematic Universe as in a bit of a slump at the moment. Even in the wake of Deadpool & Wolverine’s record setting theatrical run, the current phase of Kevin Feige’s massive empire has also seen news like Blade’s recent removal from the upcoming 2025 movie schedule making waves.
Meanwhile, Godzilla Minus One became a Cinderella story through a leggy theatrical run, as well as Toho’s monstrous saga nabbing Godzilla’s first Oscar at the 2024 Academy Awards. Pair that up with the MonsterVerse’s own success on the more blockbuster-y side of things, and Goji’s recent output seems to have proven that this sci-fi legacy has landed with an atomic blast.
It appears that Godzilla Minus One has Kevin Feige noting that his four-panel juggernauts could be delivering more bang for the buck. As the budget for the World War II drama was clocked at costing, at most, $15 million, the movie’s estimated worldwide take of $116.4 million looked even better by comparison. The fact that Feige fanned out over the climactic Operation Wadatsumi sequence with Takashi Yamazaki only makes this potential lesson all the more potent.
Taking into account the big set pieces that bound together moments of personal bonding and evaluation of trauma, even the criticisms of the MonsterVerse seem to have been addressed in Yamazaki-San’s still beloved motion picture. In Minus One, you could actually root for the characters to survive in a seemingly unpredictable world.
So maybe between the intimate storytelling and frugal spending that Takashi Yamazaki used to make Minus One something truly special, perhaps the Marvel Studios brass have decided they want to do the same. Taking the more street-level approach of series like the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again might be just what the doctor ordered in the MCU.
With those guardrails in place, there could be a potential renaissance in the Marvel camp. A move away from the franchise’s need to spend $200 million on each film’s budget cold take the pressure off when it comes to delivering in theaters, which in turn might refocus the storytelling to be able to adapt some properties that might be seen as a bit of a gamble in the wake of Eternals and other more experimental flops. Could it be that, thanks to the lessons that may have been learned, the MCU could become dangerous and risk taking again?
If you want to see why this sort of thing worked so well in the Godzilla universe, Godzilla Minus One is currently available through two different methods. While the film is currently enjoying a theatrical re-release, it can also be streamed by those who have access to a Netflix subscription. But if you have the opportunity, I highly recommend you seek this one out at the movies, the way Godzilla himself would want you to see it.