| “ | 1 Godzilla. 1 Maverick. 1 Battle. (1 ゴジラ。1 マーベリック。1バトル。) | „ |
— Tagline |
Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. (Japanese: シン・ゴジラ×トップガン, Hepburn: Shin Gojira tai Toppugan, released in Japan as Shin Godzilla vs. Top Gun) is a 2030 Japanese-American kaiju action film directed by Shinji Higuchi, and written by Hideaki Anno and Christopher McQuarrie. It is produced by Toho Studios, Cine Bazar, Paramount Pictures, TC Productions and Jerry Bruckheimer Films, and distributed by Toho in Japan, and Paramount Pictures internationally. A sequel to 2016's Shin Godzilla and 2027's Top Gun: Maverick and Rooster, it is the fourth film in the Top Gun franchise, the 46th film in the Godzilla franchise, Toho's 37th Godzilla film, and the ninth film in the franchise's Reiwa era. It stars Tom Cruise, Hiroki Hasegawa, Satomi Ishihara, Miles Teller and Yutaka Takenouchi. In the film, Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell of the United States military has to stop Godzilla's rampage alongside Japan, after the colossal creature breaks out from his state of suspended hibernation.
When Top Gun: Maverick was released to Japan, it was a critical and financial success, winning the Japan Academy Film Prize for Best Foreign Language Film, and grossing $101.7 million in the country. Toho sought out to rent the IP from Paramount, in which the studio gave Toho the rights for the Top Gun franchise in July 2027, two months after Top Gun: Maverick and Rooster was released. Toho asked Shin Godzilla writer-director Hideaki Anno to write and direct the film, and Jerry Bruckheimer to produce the film, and get Tom Cruise to be in the film. Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie joined production on October 2027. McQuarrie expanded on Anno's initial screenplay, while Cruise spent six months relearning the Japanese language. This was the first time both Cruise and McQuarrie worked on a major non-Hollywood production. When Anno passed off being the director of the film, his longtime partner, Shinji Higuchi, was hired. Toho financed ¥3.1 billion (~$21 million) into the film, whilst Paramount put in $50 million into production, with a combined budget of roughly $71 million, which made it the most expensive Godzilla film produced by Toho, and the most expensive Japanese film production of all time. Principal photography commenced from March 2028 to January 2029.
Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. was theatrically released in Japan on April 26, 2030, and in the United States on May 29. The film was lauded by critics, applauding Higuchi's direction, the cast's performances, visual effects and action sequences. It was nominated for 11 Japan Academy Film Prize awards, winning eight, including Picture of the Year, Best Director and Best Screenplay. It was also nominated for five awards at the 103rd Academy Awards (including Best Picture), winning Best International Feature Film, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects. The film grossed $915.8 million, which made it the highest-grossing Godzilla film of all time, the highest-grossing film produced in Japan, the third-highest grossing film with its language primarily not being English and the fourth-highest grossing film of 2030.
Plot[]
From where Shin Godzilla left off, Godzilla remained frozen in Tokyo. Once all of his radioactive matter decayed after the stated 20 days, predicted by Hiromi Ogashira, the JSDF plans to blow the monster up in a safe manner. Supervised by Rando Yaguchi, the JSDF sends three Mitsubishi F-2 jets, armed with highly explosive MOABs. Suddenly, Godzilla emerges from the statue, with longer, bulkier arms, and a slimmer lower body. When the jets dropped the explosives, Godzilla shrugged off the damage and retaliated back with a fire of a purple spiral ray of energy, which was unlike any of his previous abilities. After shooting one of the jets, Godzilla turned his tail towards the pair of F-2s, obliterating them with a ray of his own. As a show of dominance, Godzilla's back brightened to a bright purple, until he let out a shotgun barrage of lasers down onto Tokyo, bombarding the city like he did months prior. Yaguchi and Kayoco Anne Patterson watch in horror, as Godzilla roars in victory, and he swims back into the ocean. The United States asked the UN Security Council to issue a thermonuclear strike on Godzilla. The council unanimously agreed, while the Japanese government obliged, only on the condition that the strike may be issued when the monster does not resurface on Japanese soil. When the giant resurfaced in Bikini Atoll, an island deserted since the late 1950s, two B83 warheads were launched onto Godzilla. The first was shot down by Godzilla, but the second warhead successfully made an impact. As officials, including Yaguchi, look on the atoll clearing up dust, Godzilla was nowhere to be found.
With the threat declared destroyed, the world went on as usual for the next ten years. Yaguchi is elected as Prime Minister of Japan, and he appointed his longtime friend, Hideki Akasaka, to become Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Patterson became the President of the United States, as a part of the Democratic Party.
In the meantime, Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell and Commander Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw were doing a fly-by routine in their F/A-18 Super Hornets over the Pacific Ocean. They descend their jets down to less than 100 feet for fun, until a giant, red tail emerges from the sea. The duo pulled over just in time to not get hit and knocked over by the tail. As Rooster looked in disbelief, Maverick reported back to the USS Abraham Lincoln about the sudden emergence of a giant living object. As the giant rears its head, his mouth becomes charged with a giant bright purple light, and fires at the two. Maverick and Rooster manage to evade in time, as one of the beam's heat itself scorches parts of the canopy. Seeing it as hostile, Maverick and Rooster begin to open fire on the giant, whilst gathering footage of the creature. The creature itself didn't seem to recoil in pain, as much as it got annoyed. As Rooster contacts any nearby destroyers for assistance, with no avail, Maverick unleashes all the weaponry he has onto the creature. As the titan reared its head up for another blast of energy, a direct missile shot from Maverick into its mouth caused it to stop from charging, rearing in pain. The beast pointed its tail at Maverick. As he saw the bright light charging, he broke into a left turn before the tail opened fire with its energy beam. Unfortunately, the beam hit the left engine of the Hornet, which caused it to explode mid-air. As Maverick ejected and deployed his parachute, and Rooster watched from a close proximity, the monster flexed its back to the sky, launching a barrage of lasers that showered down to the surface. Rooster, who was narrowly hit by one, deployed his flares and successfully managed to get two laser barrages to dissipate. The monster then dove back into the sea, leaving an area of contaminated destruction.
Maverick, still drifting from the sky towards the ground, sees the giant fires on the surface of the water. Upon seeing this, he directed himself away from the fires, into an area a mile away from the inflamed sea surface. As he launches a flare for help, he sees an array of jagged dorsal plates from his right side. Looking at his compass, the creature was heading East, which meant it could possibly make landfall on Japan. A rescue helicopter spots him from the sky and picks him up, but to Maverick's surprise, his pickup crew were wearing hazmat suits, with Geiger counters scanning all over his body. As he is taken back to the USS Abraham Lincoln, he asks why the crew showed up in hazmat suits. They respond by saying how the 2016 nuclear disaster in Tokyo was due to a giant creature, which appeared eerily similar to the creature shown in the shot footage by Maverick and Rooster. When he asked what the name of the creature was, the crew simply replied, "Godzilla." Maverick repeated that word many times before he reunited with Rooster on the carrier. Waiting for him were Prime Minister Rando Yaguchi and President Kayoco Anne Patterson.
After Maverick explained the encounter with the specimen, Yaguchi concluded that Godzilla had indeed returned. When Patterson was about to translate, Maverick broke out in fluent, albeit very accented, Japanese, taking the duo by surprise. When Maverick asked about how they defeated Godzilla, they informed him of the blood coagulant that they had mass produced, which cut off Godzilla's blood supply and froze him temporarily, before he broke free from his stature. Maverick proposed a plan to inject the monster with more of the coagulant, but Yaguchi pointed out how Shin's rapid adaptation likely would render the coagulant useless. Pondering other options, Maverick recalled how the inside of Godzilla was vulnerable to conventional weaponry, citing his observations as Godzilla recoiled in plane when the missile exploded in his mouth. He proposed a solution to drop a barrage of cluster bombs into the monster's mouth, with perhaps destroying the monster from within will end the reign of terror.
Suddenly, Prime Minister Yaguchi is notified of Godzilla suddenly emerging in Toyama. As he hastily heads over to his helicopter to arrive at the National Diet Building in Tokyo, Maverick requests to fly against the monster, to assist the JSDF. Yaguchi grants him the permission, and with that, Maverick hastily asks for his F/A-18. When Rooster comes up to Maverick to ask questions, Maverick tells him about Godzilla and the 2016 nuclear disaster in Tokyo was caused by him. Asking for aircover, Rooster hops in his own F/A-18, and both jets launch off the carrier to Toyama, where Godzilla had already been wreaking havoc on the city. The JSDF try their hardest to fend off Godzilla, but all it does is annoy it. Godzilla retaliates with his heat beam, destroying most of the JSDF arsenal in one swoop. Just as Godzilla was about to finish off the last battalion of tanks that were retreating north, Maverick came in with more missiles at his disposal, and Rooster by his side. The two successfully led Godzilla back into the ocean. The duo opened fire onto Godzilla, waiting for an opening to fire Tomahawk cruise missiles from the nearby USS Leyte Gulf into Godzilla's mouth. A stray missile shot into Godzilla's eye enraged him, opening his mouth to charge up his beam. When Maverick noticed the charge-up, he immediately gave the green light to the destroyer and the Tomahawks entered through Godzilla's mouth, blowing off his head and neck. His body had flopped to the ground and his trail of destruction was over.
Just as Maverick, Yaguchi, Rooster and the JSDF were about to declare victory, the body started to rise up from where it once laid. Now the headless Godzilla roamed around aimlessly, before it started to regenerate from the neck-up. Everyone watched in astonishment, as Godzilla fully regenerated his head and neck. Instead of retaliating, however, he just returned to the sea, giving an angry look at the fiery battlefield that was the city of Toyama. President Patterson watched from the TV, as the hulking massive giant disappeared into the depths. When she arrived back in the States and told the rest of the White House that Godzilla had returned, her vice president told her to try and make use of the nuclear weapons once more. Patterson, having been anti-nuclear and pushing for the Anti-Thermonuclear Act in Congress since her first year in office to dismantle any and all nuclear warheads within the United States military arsenal, reluctantly asked the VP to garner two B61s warheads to make use.
Yaguchi, with his friend and his Minister for Foreign Affairs Hideki Akasaka, proposed a new plan with the JSDF. In the ensuing assault, Godzilla had left behind many trails of his flesh and blood, allowing for the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to analyze samples to try and replicate the success they've had with the blood coagulant, much like ten years prior. Because they knew the coagulant wouldn't hold and destroy him permanently, Yaguchi proposed a plan that would have two pairs of fighter jets drop two waves of bombs into Godzilla's mouth. The first wave would lase Godzilla's interior and drop the coagulant directly into his mouth, preventing his heat beam from firing and temporarily freezing him. The second wave would drop a pair of B61s down his mouth, overloading his heart with the intense amount of heat and radiation and finally exploding, disintegrating his entire body and leaving no trace of him behind. When Akasaka asked who would lead the attack, Yaguchi said that an American would lead the mission.
Maverick was quarantined at a Japanese airbase for several days, because while visibly he didn't suffer from any genetic mutations or radiation burns, the Japanese had to ensure that he wasn't contaminated. Right as he was being released from quarantine, Patterson greeted him and asked him if he could lead a squadron of fighter jets to kill Godzilla. Maverick was listening, and Patterson broke down the plan to him about the new blood coagulant developing and the potential of the nuclear bombs incinerating Godzilla from within. Maverick stated how that sounded like a solid plan, but couldn't risk civilian casualties in a populated area. Rather than Maverick leading the mission and the squadron that would follow, he instead proposed that he would act as bait for Godzilla, leading the monster into an area with no human lives in danger. When Patterson asked who would lead this mission, Maverick warmly smiled at Patterson, saying that he knew someone that would be "perfect" to lead this mission.
Rooster, who was still onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, was approached by Maverick. After rhetorically asking whether he was clear of any radiation, Maverick proposes to Rooster about the plan that Patterson wanted. When Rooster asked why he cannot lead the mission, Maverick told him that he would bait Godzilla. Rooster, feared of losing his father-figure, wanted Maverick to not take the risk, but Maverick warmly smiled at him too, telling him that the world was at stake if Godzilla was not stopped. He then tells Rooster that he has faith in him to lead the world to victory.
Two weeks have gone by without Godzilla making landfall. Satellites were able to detect when he had ventured close to the Japanese mainland. During this time, Maverick and Rooster break out the plan to Rooster's longtime wingman, Commander Jake "Hangman" Seresin, and two volunteers from the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force: First Lieutenant Takao "Yamato" Honda and Second Lieutenant Michiru "Kiryu" Tezuka. Dubbed "Operation Hokmuto," the plan would have Godzilla being redirected by Maverick and a fleet of naval destroyers to the northwest side of the Sea of Japan, to ensure any human civilians wouldn't get affected by the possibility of a nuclear explosion, but also if the nuclear explosion happens, it wouldn't interfere with the ring of fire under the depths of the ocean. The first wave would have Rooster and Hangman lase Godzilla's mouth and launch the coagulant bomb into his mouth, pulling up right before he freezes. Right as he freezes, a second wave of a pair of Japanese F-35s would lase and drop two B61s into Godzilla's mouth, overloading him with nuclear energy before his internal reactor eventually collapses and explodes, and his body with it. By this time, Yaguchi had received word that the coagulant had finished producing the necessary amount for this mission. Due to the backing of the government, the coagulant was ten times faster at freezing Godzilla's blood traces than ten years ago. The amount necessary was compacted into two bombs that were shaped like GBU-12s.
Godzilla was detected to have been drawing closer to Niigata. The five pilots are transferred to Chitose Air Base, where Yaguchi gives one final encouraging speech about the future of Japan and the world, after killing Godzilla. Maverick gives one final call to his wife, Penny Benjamin, before he hops on his F/A-18. Suddenly, satellite images pick up Godzilla breaching the surface, and that is when Maverick is launched to lead Godzilla to the Sea of Japan. With limited munition and fuel, he puts a picture of him and Rooster on his right side before charging his jet towards the resurfaced Godzilla. Annoying him with bullets and barrage of missiles, he successfully leads Godzilla away from Niigata, where destroyers miles ahead open fire to draw his attention. The chase goes on for several hours, with Godzilla stopping momentarily to fire at the sky and at the destroyers. In the span of those hours, five destroyers were struck and sunk by Godzilla's atomic barrages, whether from his mouth, tail or back. But Maverick survived long enough for him to reach the checkpoint. As he opened fire in all directions, circling around Godzilla's upper body to keep him in his place, Maverick climbed to the altitude where Rooster and Hangman were circling around the area minutes beforehand. Godzilla opened his mouth towards the sky preparing to charge for another attack. Just as it was ready to fire, Maverick gives the signal to attack, and Hangman successfully lases Godzilla's innards for Rooster, dropping the coagulant bombs inside of his body.
As they perform a high G climb to avoid crashing into Godzilla, Godzilla's breath stops charging but he still turns around to prepare some sort of assault. From the end of his tail, a flock of Godzilla humanoids emerged and sprouted wings, gaining at the three. Godzilla's back shoulders split open to unveil a pair of wings, as the three Hornet pilots, as well as Yaguchi watching the situation with the Cabinet, stare in absolute shock. Just as Godzilla was about to launch himself to fly, the wings started to crumble. The coagulant was starting to work and was trying to freeze over his body. However, Godzilla's adaptation was allowing him to fight back against the freezing process, but he could not attack the jets. While the Super Hornets were fending off against the horde of flying mini-Godzillas, the two F-35s finally arrived at the scene from the air base. Because Godzilla was reeling and shaking his head in all directions, for he was in pain from the coagulant taking his body over, the pair could not get a clean shot in. With another horde of flying Godzillas heading their way, the F-35s opened fire with their missiles and guns. With Godzilla being aware that he would be frozen again, he attempted a last minute attack. He resprouted his wings and faced them and his back towards the sky, launching a ball of energy into the sky. The ball slowly broke apart into different lasers that were raining down from the sky, destroying several more destroyers in the Sea and almost hitting the squadron of F/A-18s and F-35s. Maverick wasn't so lucky, as he was struck by the laser barrage from the sky. Just as his jet crashed into the sea, he shouted into comms for the F-35s to regroup and attack Godzilla, before his radio went dead.
Motivated by this, the F-35 pair finally charged at Godzilla, and then performed a high G climb for Godzilla to face up towards them. Godzilla's mouth brightened to another purple, but the coagulant was already starting to take a toll on his atomic energy. Being unable to unleash his weapon, the F-35s lased onto Godzilla's interior with the B61s and dropped them. They then entered his body, forcing the F/A-18s and F-35s to retreat from the area. As Godzilla roared in sheer defiance, his body lit up and a giant mushroom cloud formed in the water. All four of the jets' canopies were shaking, with one of Rooster's engines malfunctioning and shut off by the shockwave of the blast. The horde of humanoid Godzillas that followed them couldn't catch up and were incinerated in the blast. Visual satellite images have shown that there have been no traces of Godzilla's remains, ensuring his death once and for all. Suddenly, a flare was shot from the sea. When Rooster descended down, it was Maverick, who parachuted far enough to not suffer any burns from the nuclear explosion. Rooster radioed the USS Abraham Lincoln, to send a rescue chopper for Maverick.
They all gather back in Chitose Air Base, where the five pilots hug it out for saving the world from Godzilla. Yaguchi and Patterson were there, and Maverick saluted the two, as they thanked him for his service. The film ends with Maverick being awarded the Medal of Honor by President Patterson, and Maverick motorbiking back to his home in San Diego to his wife and stepdaughter.
Main credits[]
- Directed by: Shinji Higuchi
- Written by: Hideaki Anno and Christopher McQuarrie
- Based on:
- Godzilla, by Ishirō Honda and Takeo Murata
- Top Gun characters, by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr.
- Produced by: Jerry Bruckheimer, Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, Minami Ichikawa, Kazutoshi Wadakura, Daiki Koide
- Executive producers: Hideaki Anno, Kenji Yamada. Kazuaki Kishida
- Directors of photography: Osamu Ichikawa, Keizō Suzuki
- Art direction by: Yuji Hayashida, Eri Sakushima
- Edited by: Hideaki Anno
- Music by: Shirō Sagisu, Andrew Kawczynski
- Visual effects supervisor: Atsuki Sato
Cast[]
Tom Cruise stars in his first Godzilla film as Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell from the Top Gun franchise
- Tom Cruise as CAPT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, naval aviator in the United States Navy for 40 years
- Hiroki Hasegawa as Rando Yaguchi, Prime Minister of Japan
- Satomi Ishihara as Kayoco Anne Patterson, President of the United States
- Miles Teller as CDR Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, naval aviator in the United States Navy for 15 years
- Yutaka Takenouchi as Hideki Akasaka, Minister for Foreign Affairs in Japan
- Glen Powell as CDR Jake "Hangman" Seresin, naval aviator in the United States Navy for 15 years
- Tasuku Emoto as First LT Takao "Yamato" Honda
- Mao Inoue as Second LT Michiru "Kiryu" Tezuka
Jennifer Connelly would briefly cameo as the voice of Penny Penjamin, when Maverick calls her before he is sent off. Kengo Kora and Mikako Ichikawa each have one scene as Yusuke Shimura and Hiromi Ogashira respectively.
Production[]
Development[]
When Top Gun: Maverick was released to Japan, it was a critical and financial success, winning the Japan Academy Film Prize for Best Foreign Language Film, and grossing $101.7 million in the country. A vision was born, with Top Gun crossing over with Toho's biggest franchise.
After a crossover between the Godzilla and Mad Max franchises, the latter of which is owned by Warner Bros. Pictures, was announced at 2026 San Diego Comic-Con, Toho sought out to rent the Top Gun IP from Paramount, in which the latter gave Toho the rights for the franchise in July 2027, two months after Top Gun: Maverick and Rooster was released. However, it was under the condition that Paramount would co-produce the film with them, as well as provide international distribution. Toho gladly accepted the conditions, with CEO Hiro Matsuoka saying, "We were glad to co-produce the MonsterVerse with Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. We gave them terms. Now it's time for us to take terms."
When the announcement of a Top Gun/Godzilla crossover came into light, Legendary Pictures sued Toho for breaking their contract deal with them and Warner Bros. Pictures. However, due to the technicality that Paramount would co-produce the film under the Top Gun license, not the Godzilla license, the lawsuit was quickly turned down.
Pre-production and writing[]
To not conflict with the ongoing Godzilla films directed by Takashi Yamazaki, they revisited Shin Godzilla from 2016. Toho asked Shin Godzilla writer-director Hideaki Anno to write and direct the film, and while Paramount asked Jerry Bruckheimer to produce the film, and get Tom Cruise to be in the film. Because it was the highest-grossing Godzilla film in Japan, Toho asked Anno to write it as a sequel to Shin Godzilla. Anno wrote the basic outline of a pilot being weary that he had lost everything because of Godzilla, and due to the Big G, would avenge his fallen friends. Anno denotes that he used 2023's Godzilla Minus One as a blueprint for this story, only with more politically-driven lenses, such as the US-Japan tensions between the Prime Minister of Japan and the President of the United States about usage of nuclear weapons against Godzilla. He put this outline into a screenplay draft, but relegating Maverick to a reduced role, and putting Rando Yaguchi and Kayoco Anne Patterson front and center. Anno was left unsatisfied, because he hadn't written for an American audience, and didn't want to. He ultimately let Toho, Bruckheimer and Japanese film producer Minami Ichikawa find someone else to rewrite his script. He also passed off being the director of the film, stating how he didn't want to make a film for American audiences.
| “ | Directing a Godzilla film for the States is directing a Godzilla film for Hollywood. And we're not in Hollywood right now. We're in Japan. We have our own style. | „ |
— Hideaki Anno on an interview with Toho Kingdom |
Anno would still be involved in the film as editor and executive producer, and ultimately received the writing credit for his draft.
Director/SFX Director Shinji Higuchi
When Anno passed off being the director of the film, his longtime partner, Shinji Higuchi, was hired. While he hadn't directed for an American audience before, he was onboard when he heard Tom Cruise would be in the film. Because he was aware of how a Top Gun film would be shot, Higuchi carefully devised storyboards that would allow the pilots that they were inevitably gonna hire to carefully go where they were supposed to. This included large annotations of maps that lines were drawn across to direct the planes on where to fly for each sequence, as well as animatics that were animated by himself in Unreal Engine. Godzilla's design would mostly be the same, with minor alterations, such as bigger arms, slimmed body and sharper fangs. His fifth humanoid form, which only made a brief appearance at the end of the first film, would be given vampire-like fangs in its mouth and bat-like wings on its back. His sixth form, which Higuchi called his "ultimate form," was given even bigger arms, spike-like eyebrows and a pair of wings that resembled the kaiju, Destoroyah. As fans called Shin Godzilla's fourth form design "ShinGoji (シンゴジ )," they called his sixth form "MavGoji (マーベゴジ)."
When Cruise heard the news, he remarked how fun it would be revisit Japan to film again, since 2002 for The Last Samurai. Cruise and his longtime filmmaking partner, Christopher McQuarrie, joined production on October 2027. McQuarrie expanded on Anno's initial screenplay, while Cruise spent six months relearning the Japanese language. Instead of hiring professional language developers to help him, Cruise asked Ken Watanabe to spend time with him in Japan, whilst he was adapting to the language. McQuarrie's script differed in many ways between Anno's initial draft. The most prominent change was having Maverick as the front-and-center lead character of the film, one of the very few instances of a white person leading a Japanese film, and also adding a new form for Godzilla to attain during the climax. Whilst the latter didn't have Rooster or Hangman in favor of two unnamed Japanese pilots, McQuarrie later changed them to Rooster and Hangman. He was also the one that added the Tomahawk sequence, where Godzilla would regenerate his entire head after it was blown to pieces. McQuarrie's script would have to be in both English and Japanese, to fit within Toho's standards that were given for him to work with, so he worked with a translator to finalize the screenplay. This was the first time both Cruise and McQuarrie worked on a major non-Hollywood production.
Hiroki Hasegawa, Satomi Ishihara and Yutaka Takenouchi were cast on December 2027. Miles Teller and Glen Powell were announced to be a part of the film on January 2028. Tasuku Emoto and Mao Inoue would be cast by the end of February.
Toho financed ¥3.1 billion (~$21 million) into the film, whilst Paramount put in $50 million into production, which included Cruise's $14.5 million salary. With a combined budget of roughly $71 million, this made it the most expensive Godzilla film produced by Toho, and the most expensive Japanese film production of all time.
Filming[]
Real F/A-18s and F-35s were used during the filming of the movie
Principal photography commenced from March 2028 to January 2029. Much like previous Top Gun films, producer Bruckheimer paid the United States Navy $11,374 per flight hour for F/A-18E (single seat) and F/A-18F (dual seat) Super Hornets and pilots to fly them. For external shots, real Navy pilots flew the E version. For shots of the actors in flight, the F version was used with the actual pilot in the front seat. For this film, the Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II was also rented from the US Navy for $41,986 per hour.
To sell the illusion that Godzilla was in the shot, director Shinji Higuchi, who was also the special effects director, asked producer Jerry Bruckheimer if one of the carriers could build a giant blue, inflatable tower on the carrier deck, that was 80 meters tall, but was 10 meters wide and long. A few weeks later, the USS Ronald Reagan from the Yokosuka base arrived to be used. Higuchi wanted to have Godzilla to still be in the shot in some way, shape or form. Recalling his brief usage of a bluescreen prop during Shin Godzilla for Godzilla's 2nd form, he wanted to advance that method for a full-size Godzilla. Because oxygen would prove to be too heavy for the carrier, the crew opted for Helium instead. More than 10,000 rope pegs were hammered onto the carrier runway to make sure the giant balloon tower would stay on top of the carrier.
Much like the previous two Top Gun films, the film was shot in IMAX format using IMAX-certified Sony Venice 6K full frame cameras. This was Higuchi's first film being shot with IMAX cameras, as well as the fourth Godzilla film to be shot in this format, after 2029's Godzilla: Terror of Mechagodzilla. One F/A-18F was rigged with special cameras to film an actor in the back seat. The crew reached out to Maverick director Joseph Kosinski to supervise the redevelopment of these special cameras. The crew shot the aerial footage outside the F/A-18s and F-35s with gimbal-stabilized cameras on three platforms: a nose-mounted rig on one of two modified Aero L-39 Albatros that could film at 350 kn (403 mph; 648 km/h) and 3 g, nose- and tail-mounted cameras on an Embraer Phenom 300, and a nose-mounted rig on an Airbus AS350 helicopter. Because it cost 4 times as much as the F/A-18, and the production couldn't pitch in more money into the budget, the usage of the F-35 was more limited. with the total amount of footage of the F-35 being 360 hours, compared to the F/A-18's 770 hours of footage. Still, this amounted to a total of 1,130 hours of raw footage in the air, beating out its predecessor's 800.
Cruise, Teller and Powell all trained for three months to finally get back into the backseat of an F/A-18F, to get them used to aerobatics and high g-forces once again. Emoto and Inoue were all exempt from this training.
Post-production[]
Although Anno was the sole editor credited for the film, he skimmed through 1,130 hours of aerial footage to condense into a 134-minute runtime, with his assistant editors, Yōhei Kurihara, Emi Tsujita, Ryūji Miyajima and Yusuke Ishida.
The visual effects in this film were done by Shirogumi, as did previous Godzilla films from the Reiwa era, and Method Studios, who worked on Top Gun: Maverick and Top Gun: Maverick and Rooster. The film's 870 VFX shots were supervised by Atsuki Sato, who previously worked on Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman, and Shin Kamen Rider. Paramount put the remainder of their budget after paying the three American cast members and naval jet rent fees into the VFX department at Shirogumi.
While in the first film, Godzilla's lack of movement called for less work put into the visual effects, as all he needed was slow movement and proper texturing, this script called for a more aggressive and faster Godzilla. Watching Pacific Rim, Godzilla Plus Two and the MonsterVerse films featuring Godzilla as references, Sato and Higuchi found a way for Godzilla to move convincingly fast, but also found a way to make an impact on screen. The F/A-18s and F-35s were also CGI in certain scenes with Godzilla, and used Top Gun: Maverick and Rooster and the available footage for the film he could watch as reference to see how these jets would look on-screen with aerial photography. Sato called the cockpit scenes where Godzilla's light would have to shine on the canopy of the jets the trickiest effects to do in the film. To assist the film, Toho also hired Method Studios, the VFX company which worked on Top Gun: Maverick and Top Gun: Maverick and Rooster, to help employ these effects on screen.
| “ | Digitally projecting light onto an object with either no light or pre-established light was a challenge in of itself, even more so than the water scenes. What made it more difficult to apply the tactics of other effects companies was our limited budget and resources. We're glad to have Method Studios work with us and assist us through the way. | „ |
— VFX supervisor Atsuki Sato in Tokyo Comic-Con |
Godzilla's fifth and sixth forms would also be portrayed through CGI, although several close-ups of the fifth form's model were shot in front of a green screen. Said model of the fifth form was digitally scanned into a CG model. While the light shining onto the jets were the trickiest effects in the film, due to the complicated technical issues in regards to lighting, Godzilla's sixth form was the hardest CG effect to texture and animate, especially when the coagulant was slowly quickly his body. Sato and VFX director Katsuro Onoue said that texturing Godzilla's new wings, as well as the coagulant's process of taking over his body, was difficult, due to how many micro-details they would need for the CG model. Like Anno, Higuchi wanted the texture of rubber to be employed, but also wanted the remnants of rough, crocodile skin on patches of his body.
In a cut sequence, Godzilla was going to fly and be airborne for a few seconds, after sprouting his new wings, before the coagulant would freeze and crumble its wings.
For Godzilla's roar, the Showa era Godzilla's roar, from 1955-1975, would be used for the opening of the film, where Godzilla first breaks out of his tomb. For the rest of the film, as well as the sixth form's roar, the roar transitioned into the Heisei era roar from 1984-1991. Higuchi and sound mixers Natsuko Inoue and Haru Yamada wanted to feel like this Godzilla's roar had a sense of progression for every form he grew into. His fifth form, however, would use the Destoroyah shriek.
Music[]
The music was composed by Shirō Sagisu and Andrew Kawczynski. Sagisu previously composed Shin Godzilla, and continued to compose Godzilla's theme and the music involving Japan. Kawczynski, being a protege of Hans Zimmer, took over composing the Top Gun music. Both Sagisu and Kawczynski took cues from their respective previous films, and employed and "enhanced the tracks" to better service the tone of a collaboration between the United States and Japan.
"Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins was rewritten and performed in Japanese by After the Rain, for the Japanese release of the film. Everywhere else, the English version played in the opening credits. Two original songs for the film were composed. One was called "Wings to Fight," written and performed by XAI, who also performed the original songs for the GODZILLA anime trilogy. The second was called "Go, Go Godzilla!" by Sakura Miyawaki and Jurina Matsui, the former most famous in K-pop industry as a member of Le Sserafim, and both being well known to be a part of HKT48 in the J-pop industry.
Marketing[]
The marketing costs for Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. were reported to be $65-80 million. The film was unveiled at the 2029 San Diego Comic-Con, by Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie, where a brief, 30-second teaser was showcased in Hall H. Merchandising for Godzilla and his fifth form started to pop up in toy shelves. The film would be promoted at the 2029 Tokyo Comic-Con, with Cruise, McQuarrie, director Shinji Higuchi and VFX supervisor Atsuki Sato in attendance. There, the first official trailer for the film dropped, where it ended with a shot of Godzilla's back rapidly erupting, causing massive fan speculation. The trailer would be uploaded to YouTube by Paramount Pictures, Toho Co. and the official Godzilla YouTube Channel. The film would be promoted once more at 2030 WonderCon by Cruise, McQuarrie, Miles Teller and Glen Powell. The final trailer dropped the day after.
In the teaser, the two trailers and all TV spots, Godzilla's sixth form was hidden for the marketing, not wanting to spoil their big surprise. Their post-release TV spots for promoting the movie, however, do feature Godzilla's sixth form, including the deleted shot of Godzilla being airborne.
Release[]
Theatrical[]
American theatrical poster
Under the title of Shin Godzilla vs. Top Gun, Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. had its red carpet and worldwide premiere at Toho Cinemas' theater inside the Shinjuku Toho Building on April 17, 2030. It was released to Japan nationwide on April 26, in IMAX, Dolby Cinema, 4DX, MX4D, and ScreenX formats. The American red carpet premiere and screening was at the San Diego Civic Theatre on May 27, before being released nationwide in the United States on May 29 by Paramount Pictures. Because of the success of the two Godzilla Plus/Minus installments, the film was screened in over 4,000 theaters in the United States, the highest number for a Toho Godzilla film by far. Just like in Japan, it was screened in IMAX, Dolby Cinema, 4DX, MX4D, and ScreenX formats.
Home media[]
In the United States, film was released on Digital HD on October 13, 2030, and released on DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Ultra HD on October 27, 2030. The 4K release includes HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision high dynamic range, and a Dolby Atmos soundtrack. In Japan, the film would get its Digital HD and physical copy releases on January 9, 2031.
Reception[]
Box office[]
Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. grossed ¥24.12 billion ($159.1 million) in Japan, $406.7 million in North America, and $350 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $915.8 million. It is the highest-grossing Godzilla film of all time, and the highest grossing film produced in Japan, beating 2020's Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train. It is also the fourth-highest grossing film of 2030, and the third-highest grossing film with its language primarily not being English. It was attributed to Godzilla's resurgence in popularity, as well as Cruise's star power, being popular in both the United States and Japan. It grossed $92.8 million from IMAX theaters.
The film debuted at number one at the Japanese box office, grossing ¥2.9 billion ($19.1 million) during its first three days, including $4.3 million from 52 IMAX theaters, making it the largest opening for a live-action Japanese film in the format. It remained number one at the box office for five consecutive weekends, the longest time a Godzilla film has retained the number one spot at the box office. By the end of its run, the film had sold roughly 11 million tickets, the highest number for a Godzilla film by far. Its ¥24.12 billion gross made it the fifth-highest grossing film in Japan.
In the United States and Canada, the film opened to $143.6 million in its five-day Memorial Day weekend, with $105.2 million in its three-day opening weekend, the highest in the franchise by far, and the highest-grossing opening weekend for any live-action foreign film released in North America, hitting the number one place in the North America. Its second weekend saw it drop by 25%, grossing $78.9 million, one of the smallest drops in Godzilla history and the smallest in Top Gun history, as well as beating Top Gun: Maverick for the smallest-ever drop for a film that had an opening of over $100 million. retaining the number one spot. By this weekend, the film had crossed the original Top Gun's domestic gross of $180 million. The film grossed $58.4 million in its third weekend, finishing second to Legacy of the Planet of the Apes.
Deadline Hollywood reported the film made $417.2 million in net profit, after factoring all expenses and revenues, and was placed first on the list of "Most Valuable Blockbusters of the Year."
Critical reception[]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 91% based on 370 reviews, with an average rating of 7.30/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. puts two icons of pop culture, and somehow succeeds in making a bombastic action film with intriguing moments about deep political issues." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 76 out of 100 based on 61 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 94%, and 85% with a "definite recommend."
Accolades[]
| Award | Ceremony date | Category | Recipients | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | March 9, 2031 | Best Picture | Jerry Bruckheimer, Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie and Minami Ichikawa | Nominated |
| Best International Feature Film | Japan - Shinji Higuchi | Won | ||
| Best Sound | Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Jun Nakamura and Haru Yamada | Won | ||
| Best Visual Effects | Atsuki Sato, Shinji Higuchi, Seth Hill and Katsuro Onoue | Won | ||
| Best Film Editing | Hideaki Anno | Nominated | ||
| BAFTA Awards | February 16, 2031 | Best Film Not in the English Language | Shinji Higuchi, Jerry Bruckheimer, Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie and Minami Ichikawa | Nominated |
| Best Sound | Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Jun Nakamura and Haru Yamada | Won | ||
| Best Editing | Hideaki Anno | Nominated | ||
| Best Special Visual Effects | Atsuki Sato, Shinji Higuchi, Seth Hill and Katsuro Onoue | Won | ||
| Golden Globe Awards | January 5, 2031 | Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language | Japan - Shinji Higuchi | Nominated |
| Visual Effects Society Awards | February 19, 2031 | Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature | Atsuki Sato, Shinji Higuchi, Seth Hill, Daryl Sawchuk and Katsuro Onoue | Nominated |
| Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature | Atsuki Sato and Shinji Higuchi - "Godzilla's Sixth Form" | Nominated | ||
| Satellite Awards | March 4, 2031 | Best Foreign Language Film | Japan - Shinji Higuchi | Won |
| Best Visual Effects | Atsuki Sato, Shinji Higuchi, Seth Hill and Katsuro Onoue | Won | ||
| Best Editing | Hideaki Anno | Nominated | ||
| Best Sound | Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Jun Nakamura and Haru Yamada | Won | ||
| Saturn Awards | February 9, 2031 | Best International Film | Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. | Won |
| Best Director | Shinji Higuchi | Nominated | ||
| Best Special Effects | Atsuki Sato, Shinji Higuchi, Seth Hill and Katsuro Onoue | Won | ||
| Best Writing | Hideaki Anno and Christopher McQuarrie | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor | Tom Cruise | Won | ||
| Critics' Choice Movie Awards | January 14, 2031 | Best Foreign Language Film | Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. | Won |
| Best Visual Effects | Atsuki Sato, Shinji Higuchi, Seth Hill and Katsuro Onoue | Nominated | ||
| Best Sound | Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Jun Nakamura and Haru Yamada | Won | ||
| Critics' Choice Super Awards | April 3, 2031 | Best Action Movie | Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. | Won |
| Best Actor in an Action Movie | Tom Cruise | Won | ||
| Best Villain in a Movie | Godzilla | Won | ||
| Directors Guild of America Awards | February 8, 2031 | Outstanding Directing – Feature Film | Shinji Higuchi | Nominated |
| Producers Guild of America Awards | February 23, 2031 | Best Theatrical Motion Picture | Shinji Higuchi, Jerry Bruckheimer, Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie and Minami Ichikawa | Nominated |
| Hugo Awards | October 17, 2031 | Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form | Shinji Higuchi, Hideaki Anno and Christopher McQuarrie | Nominated |
| Indiana Film Journalists Association Awards | December 16, 2030 | Best Film | Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. | Nominated |
| Best Foreign Language Film | Won | |||
| Best Musical Score | Shirō Sagisu and Andrew Kawczynski | Nominated | ||
| Phoenix Critics Circle Awards | Best Foreign Language Film | Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. | Won | |
| San Diego Film Critics Society Awards | December 24, 2030 | Won | ||
| Best Visual Effects | Won | |||
| Best Sound Design | Won | |||
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards | December 9, 2030 | Best Foreign Language Film | Won | |
| Best Editing | Hideaki Anno | Nominated | ||
| Golden Reel Awards | March 2, 2031 | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Foreign Language Feature | Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Jun Nakamura and Haru Yamada | Won |
| American Film Institute Awards | December 6, 2030 | Top 10 Films of the Year | Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. | Won[note 1] |
| National Board of Review Awards | December 5, 2030 | Top Ten Films | Won[note 1] | |
| Best International Film | Won | |||
| Hollywood Critics Association Creative Arts Awards | February 30, 2031 | Best Sound | Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Jun Nakamura and Haru Yamada | Won |
| Best Visual Effects | Atsuki Sato, Shinji Higuchi, Seth Hill and Katsuro Onoue | Nominated | ||
| Houston Film Critics Society Awards | February 16, 2031 | Best Picture | Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. | Nominated |
| Best Actor | Tom Cruise | Nominated | ||
| Best Visual Effects | Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. | Won | ||
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | February 23, 2031 | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Tom Cruise, Hiroki Hasegawa, Miles Teller, Satomi Ishihara, Yutaka Takenouchi, Tasuku Emoto and Mao Inoue | Nominated |
| AACTA International Awards | Best Film | Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. | Nominated | |
| Best Direction | Shinji Higuchi | Nominated | ||
| Best Screenplay | Hideaki Anno and Christopher McQuarrie | Nominated | ||
| Seattle Film Critics Society Awards | January 19, 2031 | Best International Film | Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. | Won |
| Best Director | Shinji Higuchi | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor in a Leading Role | Tom Cruise | Nominated | ||
| Best Film Editing | Hideaki Anno | Won | ||
| Best Visual Effects | Atsuki Sato, Shinji Higuchi, Seth Hill and Katsuro Onoue | Won | ||
| Japan Academy Film Prize | March 7, 2031 | Picture of the Year | Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. | Won |
| Best Director | Shinji Higuchi | Won | ||
| Best Screenplay | Hideaki Anno and Christopher McQuarrie | Won | ||
| Best Lead Actor | Tom Cruise | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Hiroki Hasegawa | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actress | Satomi Ishihara | Nominated | ||
| Best Cinematography | Osamu Ichikawa and Keizo Suzuki | Won | ||
| Best Lighting Direction | Takayuki Kawabe | Won | ||
| Best Sound Recording | Natsuko Inoue | Won | ||
| Best Art Direction | Yuji Hayashida, Eri Sakushima | Won | ||
| Best Film Editing | Hideaki Anno | Won | ||
| Asian Film Awards | March 9, 2031 | Best Actor | Tom Cruise | Nominated |
| Best Supporting Actor | Satomi Ishihara | Won | ||
| Best Visual Effects | Atsuki Sato, Shinji Higuchi, Seth Hill and Katsuro Onoue | Won | ||
| Best Sound | Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Jun Nakamura and Haru Yamada | Won | ||
| Blue Ribbon Awards | February 9, 2031 | Best Film | Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. | Won |
| Best Director | Shinji Higuchi | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor | Tom Cruise | Won | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Hiroki Hasegawa | Won | ||
| Best Supporting Actress | Satomi Ishihara | Won | ||
| Hochi Film Awards | December 13, 2030 | Best Picture | Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. | Won |
| Best Director | Shinji Higuchi | Won | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Hiroki Hasegawa | Won | ||
| Mainichi Film Awards | February 12, 2031 | Best Film | Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. | Nominated |
| Best Director | Shinji Higuchi | Nominated | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Hiroki Hasegawa | Won | ||
| Best Cinematography | Osamu Ichikawa and Keizo Suzuki | Won | ||
| Best Sound Recording | Natsuko Inoue | Won | ||
| Best Film Score | Shirō Sagisu and Andrew Kawczynski | Nominated |
Trivia[]
- When being interviewed at G-Fest 35, Christopher McQuarrie said he made the addition of a new form for Godzilla, when he found fanfiction online talking about Godzilla's rapid mutation. Seeing the kaiju's evolving capabilities in Shin Godzilla, he put that into the script.
- Top Gun: Godzilla S.O.S. marked the first time the Godzilla franchise has won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
- In Japan, the film would mark the first time the Top Gun franchise has been nominated for a Japan Academy Film Prize, an Asian Film Award and a Blue Ribbon Award.
- The names for Takao "Yamato" Honda and Michiru "Kiryu" Tezuka were references to staff members who worked on the Godzilla franchise and other kaiju films produced by Toho.
- "Takao Honda" was a combination of the filmmakers' names, Takao Okawara, director of three of the Heisei era Godzilla movies, and Ishirō Honda, creator and director of the original Godzilla film from 1954. His callsign "Yamato" was a nod to the 1994 film, Yamato Takeru, which was directed by Takao Okawara. It might've also been a nod to the warship Yamato, that was sunk in World War II.
- "Michiru Tezuka" was a combination of Michiru Oshima and Masaaki Tezuka, the music composer and director of the Kiryu Saga Godzilla movies. Her callsign "Kiryu" takes the alternate name of the titular Mechagodzilla from the Kiryu Saga Godzilla movies.
- At age 68, Tom Cruise is the oldest actor to be a leading actor for a Godzilla movie, by the time of its release.
Notes[]
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