Ken Watanabe joins Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla as production begins

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Many never thought this day would come, but here we are on the first day of production on a proper American GODZILLA movie. Not only have the filmmakers begun shooting, but now we have a bona fide Japanese actor in the cast. The great Ken Watanabe has joined the already stellar cast that features Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, David Strathairn and Bryan Cranston.

While no plot details are known, we do know that Bryan Cranston is playing the stepfather to Elizabeth Olsen‘s character. Aaron Johnson will play her boyfriend. With a cast as globally varied as this it makes me wonder exactly where GODZILLA is going to land. New York would be the iconic choice, but could it be somewhere else? The studio may be taking a cue from PACIFIC RIM and trying to localize their devastation. I trust in Frank Darabont‘s script and his desire to make an awesome monster movie.

Watanabe’s role is undetermined but I would guess he will be the inevitable connection between the Japanese and their knowledge of Godzilla and the Americans now suffering the creature’s wrath. It is tough to tell if his role is a minor one since he is joining just as production starts or if they were negotiating until the zero hour. Either way, having Watanabe adds another notch on this already great cast.

It is very cool to see a new generation of directors getting a chance at these big projects. Whether it be Colin Trevorrow with JURASSIC PARK IV or Gareth Edwards with GODZILLA, there are a lot of unique voices coming to the big studio projects. I hope that this one turns out to be a winner. We have had a drought here in North America and suddenly here comes a downpour of kaiju movies.