Godzilla Day 2022

11.4.2022

Happy Birthday Godzilla! The last three days have been great fun celebrating Godzilla’s 68th anniversary during Godzilla Fes 「ゴジラ・フェス｣. Toho put on a great show for Godzilla Day streamed on YouTube. There was so much to celebrate that included the 50th anniversary of Godzilla vs Gigan (1972) and the 20th anniversary Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla (2002), which played across the U.S. in select theaters on Thursday. In addition, there were Godzilla themed-events, store specials, contests and releases across the world and online.

Everyone was waiting for the release of the much anticipated short films. First was the Gemstone CGI film Godzilla vs Gigan Rex. The second was the live-action Godzilla Fes 3 Gigan’s Invasion (フェス・ゴジラ３ ガイガン来襲). The Gigan suit used was constructed by Monster Maker Shinichi Wakasa, who was interviewed during the show along with a short documentary on the suit’s making.

The most exciting news was the announcement of a new Godzilla movie directed by Takashi Yamazaki (山崎 隆) to be released in Japan next Godzilla Day, Friday, November 3, 2023. Director Yamazaki is known for his live-action films such as Space Battleship Yamato (2014), Always: Sunset on Third Street (2005), Returner (2002), and Parasyte (2014) and CGI films such as Stand By Me Doraemon (2014). The new film was teased with this cool “G” letter resembling Godzilla with his tail wrapping around his body.

Godzilla Day would not be complete without new collectibles and releases, which included SH Monster Arts Gigan and Kiryu MechaGodzilla, X-Plus Yuji Sakai Godzilla, Cavity Colors apparel, Waxwork Godzilla Singular Point Record, Super7 Godzilla figures, FYE Godzilla Day items and much more.

Godzilla Day was full of great surprises setting up a countdown for the release of the new film next Godzilla day followed by a year long celebration of Godzilla’s 70th birthday. This may be the best time ever to be a Godzilla fan.