Warning: Spoilers for Godzilla Minus One

A broken promise from 23 years ago would be repeated for a second time if a Godzilla Minus One sequel doesn’t happen. Godzilla Minus One’s record-breaking box office success created hope for a follow-up, but as impressive as its haul may be, a sequel remains far from a guarantee. As it stands, Godzilla Minus One 2 is not in development.

While Toho has thus far been coy about continuing Godzilla’s story, the movie itself paints a different picture. In fact, Godzilla Minus One’s ending goes along way toward setting up another movie. In addition to the hint it offers about Noriko being infected with Godzilla’s DNA, Godzilla Minus One confirms that Godzilla survived his “death.” A piece of him was seen regenerating at the end of the film, which clearly opened the door for him to resume his rampaging at a later date.

Without A Sequel, Godzilla Minus One Would Repeat A Broken Promise From 23 Years Ago

Unfortunately, the tease of Godzilla’s return on its own doesn’t provide any confidence in a potential sequel happening. After all, it’s important to note that the promise of Godzilla regenerating in Godzilla Minus One is not an unfamiliar one. It’s quite similar to the ending of 2001’s Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah, Giant Monsters All-Attack, which also saw Godzilla seemingly die in an ocean battle. The final scene showed Godzilla’s heart beating on the ocean floor, indicating that despite his defeat, the humans would soon be contending with him again once he fully regenerated.

Toho did follow up Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant All Monsters All-Out Attack with another movie a year later, but it was hardly a sequel. The next installment, 2002’s Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, clearly featured a new version of Godzilla, leaving Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah as a standalone film set in its own continuity. Whatever happened to its take on Godzilla was never explored, and now, if Godzilla Minus One doesn’t get a sequel, the same promise will be broken a second time.

Minus One’s Godzilla Has A Better Chance Of Returning Than 2001’s Godzilla Ever Had

While the aftermath of Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah will never be known, the same doesn’t have to be the case for Godzilla Minus One, which could tell multiple different stories for the kaiju. Theoretically, it could be a continuation of his battle with the people of Japan, but since that would come with the risk of telling the same story twice, it’s possible that it would follow in the footsteps of past Godzilla sequels and pit him against another monster. If that happens, he can shift into more of an anti-hero, one that Japan is forced to regard as the lesser of two evils.

Realistically, such a scenario never would have worked for Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah’s interpretation of the monster. In contrast to all other Godzilla versions, presented as a purely evil, supernatural being. For that reason, any sequel to that film wouldn’t have had much creative room in terms of his future. He could only have worked as a villain. Godzilla Minus One, on the other hand, is less explicit about Godzilla’s villainous nature, especially since it makes the humans be the ones who strike first. With that in mind, it’s not impossible that he could be taken in other directions if he were to return.