- Note that there are several Reiwa series pages on this fanon wiki. This page is not to be confused with other Reiwa series pages such as Reiwa series (Shogunguirus).
The Reiwa era (令和 Reiwa), or Reiwa period (令和時代 Reiwa jidai), is the current political era of Japan which began on May 1, 2019 following the abdication of Emperor Akihito and the ascension of Naruhito. Media produced during this era, such as that of the Godzilla series, may be identified as the Reiwa series (令和シリーズ Reiwa shirīzu) of their respective franchise.
Like the Millennium series before it, most of the films of the Reiwa series do not share one continuity. The time span of the Reiwa series overlaps with Legendary Pictures' MonsterVerse, but they are considered distinct series because they are produced by different studios.
Entries[]
Godzilla series[]
In 2004, Toho announced that Godzilla: Final Wars, the sixth and final entry in the Millennium series, would be the last Godzilla film for a period of at least 10 years. In 2014, the American studio Legendary Pictures produced Godzilla, kicking off its Monsterverse media franchise. Toho, in the meantime, had begun pre-production on its own Godzilla film, hiring Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi to helm the project. Following the financial success of Legendary's film, Toho formally announced production of its own film. The movie, titled Shin Godzilla, was released in 2016 to considerable critical and financial success.
Following the release of Shin Godzilla, Toho Pictures announced that it would be partnering with GMA Pictures to produce another live-action Godzilla film, titled The Return of Godzilla, with Shusuke Kaneko serving as director, and features the franchise's return to using practical effects, although it will not be a sequel to any of the previous Godzilla films. Around the same time, Toho Animation also announced their own partnership with animation studio Polygon Pictures to produce the first-ever animated Godzilla film, tentatively scheduled for a 2017 theatrical release in Japan, and that it would be the first entry in a trilogy.
In the anime trilogy, GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters was released to Japanese theaters in November 2017, while the second entry, City on the Edge of Battle, was released in May 2018, followed by the third, The Planet Eater, in November 2018. All three films became available to stream internationally on Netflix exactly two months after their Japanese theatrical premieres.
On November 3, 2022, during the franchise's 68th anniversary known as "Godzilla Day", Toho announced plans to release a new live-action Godzilla film, Godzilla Minus One, on November 3, 2023 to commemorate the franchise's 70th anniversary. Toho also stated that Takashi Yamazaki was the director, writer, and visual effects supervisor for the film and that it had entered post-production after recently completed filming. Its commercial success and critical acclaim led it to a sequel, Godzilla Plus Two, to be released on November 5, 2027, to success at the box office and acclaim among critics. A third film, Godzilla: The Power of Three, was released on October 31, 2031 to positive reviews, though it was deemed inferior to the first two films. A fourth and final film, Godzilla: Synthetic Division, was directed by Kiyoko Shibuya, who was visual effects director of the previous three films, in her feature film directorial debut, and also marks the first time a woman has directed a Godzilla film. As the final film of the Reiwa era, it received mostly positive reviews, but was generally seen as the least favorable amongst the Plus/Minus series. Despite being the most expensive film across the four films, it was also the lowest grossing sequel to Minus One.
Toho would produce two Godzilla films separate from the Plus/Minus series. One was Godzilla: The Great Dynasty, written and directed by Shinsuke Sato. It received critical acclaim and was a hit at the Japanese and North American box office. It would be nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film and Best Visual Effects. Another was a crossover between Toho, Tom Cruise and Paramount Pictures. It led to a sequel to Shin Godzilla; Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S., also serving as a sequel to 2027's Top Gun: Maverick and Rooster, was released on April 26, 2030 in Japan and May 29, 2030 in the United States, to positive reviews and the highest box office results for the Godzilla franchise, in Japan, North America and worldwide.
Despite being considered part of the Reiwa series, however, Toho does not include the GODZILLA trilogy as numerical entries in the franchise, likely because of their departure from live action; The Return of Godzilla was therefore considered to be the 30th and most recent Godzilla film until Godzilla Minus One.
| Entry | Japanese release date | Directed by | Screenplay by | Story by | Produced by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shin Godzilla | July 29, 2016 | Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi | Hideaki Anno | Minami Ichikawa, Taichi Ueda, Yoshihiro Sato, Masaya Shibusawa and Kazutoshi Wadakura | |
| GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters | November 17, 2017 | Kōbun Shizuno and Hiroyuki Seshita | Gen Urobuchi | Takashi Yoshizawa | |
| The Return of Godzilla | January 26, 2018 | Shusuke Kaneko | Wataru Mimura | Masato Kato and Suzette Doctolero | Minami Ichikawa |
| GODZILLA: City on the Edge of Battle | May 18, 2018 | Kōbun Shizuno and Hiroyuki Seshita | Sadayuki Murai and Tetsuya Yamada and Gen Urobuchi | Gen Urobuchi | Takashi Yoshizawa |
| GODZILLA: The Planet Eater | November 9, 2018 | Gen Urobuchi | |||
| Godzilla Minus One | November 3, 2023 | Takashi Yamazaki | Minami Ichikawa, Shūji Abe, Kenji Yamada, Kazuaki Kishida, Gō Abe and Keiichirō Moriya | ||
| Godzilla: The Great Dynasty | July 23, 2027 | Shinsuke Sato | Tsutomu Kuroiwa & Shinsuke Sato & Yasuhisa Hara | Minami Ichikawa, Hirotsugu Usui and Kazutoshi Wadakura | |
| Godzilla Plus Two | November 5, 2027 | Takashi Yamazaki | Takashi Yamazaki & Shimako Sato | Minami Ichikawa, Kenji Yamada, Kazuaki Kishida, Gō Abe and Keiichirō Moriya | |
| Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. | April 26, 2030 | Shinji Higuchi | Hideaki Anno and Christopher McQuarrie | Jerry Bruckheimer, Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, Minami Ichikawa, Kazutoshi Wadakura and Daiki Koide | |
| Godzilla: The Power of Three | October 31, 2031 | Takashi Yamazaki | Takashi Yamazaki & Ryota Kosawa | Takashi Yamazaki & Shimako Sato | Minami Ichikawa, Kenji Yamada, Kazuaki Kishida, Gō Abe and Keiichirō Moriya |
| Godzilla: Synthetic Division | October 27, 2034 | Kiyoko Shibuya | Shimako Sato | ||
Other Toho films[]
In addition to the Godzilla series, Toho also produced other kaiju, science-fiction, and horror films during the Reiwa era, some of which would recieve Hollywood adaptations. Rodan and Mothra would get their own solo films, with former being its first time since its debut in 1956. Takuya Uenishi made his feature film directorial debut with Shin Rodan.
| Entry | Japanese release date | Directed by | Screenplay by | Story by | Produced by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #JusticeForLove: End of the World | December 25, 2020 | Gina Alajar | Ryuhei Kitamura and Masato Kato | Des Garbes-Severino, Maria Zita S. Garganera, and Suzette Doctolero | Darling Pulido-Torres and Shusuke Kaneko |
| The Alien Woman | November 1, 2024 | Ryuhei Kitamura | Hiroyuki Yatsu and Angeli Atienza | Hiroyuki Yatsu | Ryuhei Kitamura and Annette Gozon-Valdes |
| Shin Rodan | August 21, 2026 | Takuya Uenishi | Minami Ichikawa, Keiji Ota and Kazutoshi Wadakura | ||
| Shin Mothra | March 28, 2031 | Shimako Sato | Hideaki Anno | Minami Ichikawa, Kenji Yamada, Gō Abe, Hideaki Anno and Kazutoshi Wadakura | |
Other media[]
Godzilla series[]
- Godzilla Singular Point (TV 2021)
- Godzilla: The Kaiju Invasion (short 2022)
Other Toho series[]
- Gas Man (TV TBA)
- Erika and the Extraterrestrial (TV TBA)
Justice for Love duology[]
- Main article: Justice for Love duology
Officially licensed tie-in media for #JusticeForLove: End of the World has been released, creating the Justice for Love duology.
- Justice for Love Presents: The Obsession (TV 2021)
- The Final Moments (short 2022)
Box office[]
| Entry | Japanese release date | Japan | North America | Other territories | Worldwide | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shin Godzilla | July 29, 2016 | $75,403,349 | $1,918,403 | $731,393 | $78,053,145 | $11 million |
| GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters | November 17, 2017 | $3,052,062 | $251,163 | $3,303,225 | ||
| The Return of Godzilla | January 26, 2018 | $35,178,489 | $1,362,974 | $810,213 | $37,341,463 | $41 million |
| GODZILLA: City on the Edge of Battle | May 18, 2018 | $1,368,180 | $1,368,180 | |||
| GODZILLA: The Planet Eater | November 9, 2018 | $1,567,561 | $1,567,561 | |||
| #JusticeForLove: End of the World | December 25, 2020 | $72,000,000 | $5,000,000 | $11,000,000 | $88,000,000 | $5 million |
| Godzilla Minus One | November 3, 2023 | $48,207,737 | $56,418,793 | $11,230,883 | $115,857,413 | $10-12 million |
| The Alien Woman | November 1, 2024 | $26,000,000 | $33,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $61,000,000 | $2.5 million |
| Shin Rodan | August 21, 2026 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | $11 million |
| Godzilla: The Great Dynasty | July 23, 2027 | $53,691,236 | $44,753,122 | $5,071,675 | $103,516,033 | $15-18.5 million |
| Godzilla Plus Two | November 5, 2027 | $88,600,047 | $68,733,171 | $63,406,467 | $221,598,517 | $20-26 million |
| Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. | April 26, 2030 | $159,127,812 | $406,704,957 | $350,010,563 | $915,843,332 | $71 million |
| Shin Mothra | March 28, 2031 | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | $9 million |
| Godzilla: The Power of Three | October 31, 2031 | $74,614,359 | $67,652,411 | $62,665,822 | $204,932,592 | $28-34 million |
| Godzilla: Synthetic Division | October 27, 2034 | $58,516,691 | $62,887,518 | $58,387,519 | $179,791,728 | $50 million |
| Total | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | |
Critical reception[]
| Entry | Runtime | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shin Godzilla | 120 minutes | 86% (73 reviews) | 68 (14 reviews) |
| GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters | 88 minutes | 71% (7 reviews) | |
| The Return of Godzilla | 103 minutes | 54% (92 reviews) | 48 (19 reviews) |
| GODZILLA: City on the Edge of Battle | 100 minutes | 60% (5 reviews) | |
| GODZILLA: The Planet Eater | 91 minutes | 60% (5 reviews) | |
| #JusticeForLove: End of the World | 158 minutes | 70% (72 reviews) | 67 (24 reviews) |
| Godzilla Minus One | 125 minutes | 98% (171 reviews) | 81 (35 reviews) |
| The Alien Woman | 98 minutes | 68% (84 reviews) | 58 (25 reviews) |
| Shin Rodan | 106 minutes | 74% (87 reviews) | 60 (22 reviews) |
| Godzilla: The Great Dynasty | 115 minutes | 83% (181 reviews) | 66 (41 reviews) |
| Godzilla Plus Two | 135 minutes | 95% (194 reviews) | 80 (44 reviews) |
| Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. | 134 minutes | 91% (370 reviews) | 76 (61 reviews) |
| Shin Mothra | 127 minutes | 83% (105 reviews) | 69 (26 reviews) |
| Godzilla: The Power of Three | 120 minutes | 79% (220 reviews) | 68 (51 reviews) |
| Godzilla: Synthetic Division | 130 minutes | 66% (202 reviews) | 52 (47 reviews) |
Accolades[]
| Categories | Shin Godzilla | The Return of Godzilla | #JusticeForLove: End of the World | Godzilla Minus One | Shin Rodan | Godzilla: The Great Dynasty | Godzilla Plus Two | Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. | Shin Mothra | Godzilla: The Power of Three | Godzilla: Synthetic Division |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan Academy Film Prizes | |||||||||||
| Picture of the Year | Won | Nominated | Won | Nominated | Won | Won | Won | Nominated | |||
| Best Director | Won | Nominated | Nominated | Won | Won | Nominated | Nominated | ||||
| Best Screenplay | Nominated | Won | Won | Nominated | Won | Nominated | |||||
| Best Lead Actor | Nominated (Hiroki Hasegawa) | Nominated (Ryunosuke Kamiki) | Nominated (TBA) | Won (Kento Yamazaki) | Nominated (Ryunosuke Kamiki) | Nominated (Tom Cruise) | |||||
| Best Lead Actress | Won (Yasmien Kurdi) | Nominated (Minami Hamabe) | Nominated (Minami Hamabe) | Nominated (TBA) | Nominated (Nanoka Hara) | ||||||
| Best Supporting Actor | Nominated (Koji Yakusho) | Nominated (Hiroki Hasegawa) | |||||||||
| Best Supporting Actress | Nominated (Satomi Ishihara, Mikako Ichikawa) |
Nominated (Ysabel Ortega) | Won (Sakura Ando) | Won (Nanoka Hara) | Nominated (Satomi Ishihara) | Nominated (TBA) | Nominated (TBA) | ||||
| Best Music | Nominated | Nominated | Nominated | Won | Won | ||||||
| Best Cinematography | Won | Nominated | Nominated | Won | Won | Nominated | Won | Won | Nominated | Won | Nominated |
| Best Lighting Direction | Won | Nominated | Won | Nominated | Nominated | Won | Won | Nominated | |||
| Best Sound Recording | Won | Won | Won | Nominated | Won | Won | Won | Nominated | |||
| Best Art Direction | Won | Won | Nominated | Nominated | Won | Won | Won | Won | Nominated | ||
| Best Film Editing | Won | Won | Won | ||||||||
| Academy Awards | |||||||||||
| Best Picture | Won | Nominated | Nominated | ||||||||
| Best Director | Won | ||||||||||
| Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated | ||||||||||
| Best International Feature Film | Nominated | Won | |||||||||
| Best Production Design | Nominated | ||||||||||
| Best Sound | Nominated | Nominated | Won | Nominated | |||||||
| Best Film Editing | Nominated | ||||||||||
| Best Visual Effects | Won | Won | Won | Nominated | Nominated | ||||||
Trivia[]
- The Reiwa series is the first series of Godzilla films to include a fully-animated Godzilla film.
- The Reiwa series and the MonsterVerse mark the first-ever instance of two series of Godzilla films running concurrently.
- Such a scenario could have occurred in the early 2000s, when Toho was producing the Millennium series films while TriStar Pictures considered various Godzilla-related projects of its own, had TriStar not elected to simply let its rights revert back to Toho.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||