Filmmaker Takashi Yamazaki was previously well known mostly in Japan because of all his star-studded works spread across multiple genres. But now, he has managed to land his breakthrough among Hollywood audiences as well through his recent massively critically commended film: the fan-favorite Godzilla Minus One, aka one of the best Kaiju films of all time (if not the best).
Yet while Godzilla Minus One has quite literally raked Yamazaki’s ranks in the Hollywood entertainment industry as much as it did in Japan, what’s even more exciting than this film is the next project that the Japanese mastermind film helmer is planning inside his head: A movie that responds to Cillian Murphy’s most recent nuclear-buster, Oppenheimer!
Takashi Yamazaki Wants to Develop a Film that Responds to Oppenheimer!
Although many who have already watched Godzilla Minus One and Oppenheimer both have realized the one striking thing that connects the two masterpieces, this clarification is for those who may have ceased to notice it: Both movies are linked by their connection to the atomic bomb.
While Godzilla Minus One is set in a scenario post World War II in Tokyo, Japan where Godzilla rises as a result of the terrifying power of the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer, on the other hand, saw Cillian Murphy embodying J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of that very atomic bomb.
This is why the Japanese filmmaker of Godzilla Minus One, Takashi Yamazaki feels the strongest urge to develop a project that responds to Oppenheimer.
During a recent interview with MovieMaker, Yamazaki first explained that he went to extremes to watch Oppenheimer in Taiwan since it was yet to be released in Japan (even if it meant watching it in Chinese subtitles when his English is “not that great”).
Because of his English being not that great, he said:
“I don’t think I fully understood the nuance of what was happening in the film. But despite that, I did feel this very powerful force of what the film represented. And of course, being of Japanese descent and heritage, I’ve seen a lot more nukes in our pop culture or surroundings since I was really young.”
But even more than that, Takashi Yamazaki felt it was essential for him to “have it in the corner of my head as a strong thematic element.” As he continued to express, he further revealed how this induced in him the feeling to respond to Christopher Nolan‘s Oppenheimer as well. He said:
“I feel that as a filmmaker and director, I do want to provide some kind of answer or response to Oppenheimer someday. I don’t think Godzilla is necessarily a direct response to it, although they point at similar themes. But even if this film is never realized, I think having it in the corner of my head as a strong thematic element is important.”
There you have it. The next big project by Takashi Yamazaki that most certainly be even more jaw-dropping than both Oppenheimer and Godzilla Minus One — something that fans would inevitably be looking forward to!
Takashi Yamazaki Explains the Coincidence Behind 2 Atomic Bomb Films Releasing in 2023
After realizing the similarities between Godzilla Minus One and Oppenheimer, it becomes ostensibly surprising that both atomic bomb films hit the theatres in the same year. While the Japanese director claims “it was definitely a coincidence,” he also has quite an explanation behind this coincidence.
As he elaborated during his interview with MovieMaker:
“In a much more relevant sense to current events, I think the threat of nuclear warfare is almost at its highest right now in recent years than in any other year that most of us have been alive. And in some ways, the original 1954 Godzilla was created with that same backdrop in the wake of World War II, asking what it means for these superpowers to develop so many nuclear warheads.”
Concluding, Takashi Yamazaki said, “I think the fear and threat of it is certainly real but the timely relevance of the thematic elements are quite striking.” And as unbelievable as it may sound, what he said is only true when realizing the recent course of events and wars happening around the world.
You can stream Oppenheimer on Peacock.
