‘Godzilla Minus One’ Director Takashi Yamazaki Wants to Make a ‘Star Wars’ Film
Godzilla Minus One director Takashi Yamazaki, who oversaw the critically-acclaimed kaiju film commemorating the 70th anniversary of the franchise, has stated that he hopes he can become part of the Star Wars franchise.
Talking with Slashfilm, Yamazaki discussed his influences and his future ambitions, noting that he is interested in working on a certain American film franchise in the future:
“I watched Star Wars, and that’s how I ended up being a filmmaker. I’m really hoping I will get a call and they will bring me on Star Wars. I think a more Japanese or even just Eastern take on Star Wars would be really, really interesting, so I hope they call me up.”
Yamazaki previously cited Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind as piquing his interest in a career in visual effects when both movies released in 1977, and he similarly indicated that 1975’s Jaws was an influence for his movie. He is no stranger to bringing space opera to film, as one of his previous credits was a live-action adaptation of Space Battleship Yamato in 2010, so he has a bit of experience if he ever were given a shot at the galaxy far, far away. Other films directed by Yamazaki include adaptations of well-known intellectual properties based on anime, manga, and video games like Doraemon, Parasyte, Dragon Quest, and Lupin III, tackling both animation and live-action when bringing these worlds and characters to the big screen.
Godzilla Minus One also received high praise from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story director Gareth Edwards, who made 2014’s Godzilla movie for Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures. Edwards said that the film “must be mentioned as a candidate for the best Godzilla movie of all time” and claimed that it represented what the franchise should be. At the time of writing, the film is currently one of the best-reviewed Godzilla movies ever with a 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with 70 reviews, ahead of the 93% for the 1954 original and the 86% for 2016’s Shin Godzilla (the previous Japanese Godzilla film).
Godzilla Minus One is now playing in theaters, including IMAX.
Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.
