Back when Godzilla Minus One was first announced last year, there were supposed plot information of the movie coming from a notorious message board called 4Chan. At the time, the movie was being called "Godzilla Zero" due there not being an official movie title yet. I have covered only a fraction of that leak talking about the potential of another monster showing up, but I never actually went over those leaks. The more I look back at the information from the 4Chan leak and compare it with the trailer for Godzilla Minus One, the more I ponder if those really are true. While there are similarities, there are also differences that we can't really ignore. I swore to myself that I wouldn't talk about the leaks, but after thinking about the trailer and watching it over and over the more I think it's fake.
WARNING: What you are about to read may contain spoilers. If the leaks do turn out to be true and you don't want to be spoiled I recommend clicking off and coming back after you have seen the movie.
In the supposed leak, the story focuses on the Serizawa family. We have the young Dr. Serizawa who hates America for destroying his home and killing his father in WWII; and there is Dr. Serizawa's sister who loves her brother, but her views are at odds with her brother's and believes in moving on with their lives. Godzilla and this other monster that is described to be the pre-evolved form of what Godzilla use to be have a similar relationship as well as being the last of their species. Godzilla represents Japan's unbridled rage and attacks Tokyo believing they were the ones that had attacked him and caused his body to be covered in scars. Meanwhile, the proto-Godzilla or "Normie" as the leaker called it is trying to convince Godzilla to not be upset and to just come back home. "Normie" fails and the two monsters get into a fight resulting Godzilla as the victor. Godzilla doesn't kill "Normie," but leaves his friend unconscious as he continues his rampage on Tokyo before swimming away.
Despite his hate towards Americans, Dr. Serizawa gets recruited by the American Armed Forces to help them find a way to kill Godzilla. In this case, Dr. Serizawa has constructed a weapon for the Americans which becomes the Oxygen Destroyer. However, he is suspicious that the Americans are looking to use this invention as a weapon of war they can use against other countries. Dr. Serizawa burns all of the notes of his invention and sacrifices himself using the Oxygen Destroyer thinking he is about to get rid of Godzilla in the process as well as making sure nobody uses it for war.
Godzilla and "Normie" fight each other again this time it is an underwater battle. During the fight, however, "Normie" caught Dr. Serizawa closing in with the weapon. "Normie" saves Godzilla by pushing him out of the way and sacrifices itself to the Oxygen Destroyer. "Normie" dies and Godzilla has a sudden realization that he is now truly alone in this world. It is a sad story that is very similar to another monster movie made by Toho Co. called War of the Gargantuas, which is about two bigfoot creatures one that likes to eat people and the other protects people. While one hates humans and would rather feed on them, the other tries to force his brother to stop eating people and that they could co-exist without the needless killing.
Granted, both the leak and the trailer shows that the movie takes place in post-WWII and describe Godzilla having a more classic design. This information is really nothing new, however, as we have been aware the movie was taking place in post-WWII before the movie was officially announced. I wouldn't say Godzilla's design is a "classic" design, but it is a design that everyone is very familiar with since he does look like the Heisei Godzilla with the Monsterverse Godzilla's skin texture. Yet, that is as far as comparisons go.
In the character bios on the movie's website, we do not have any Serizawa characters. Instead, we get characters such as Noriko Oishi and Koichi Shikishima. According to their bios, they had some involvement in the war effort, but after the war they were trying to find each other. We also have the glasses guy whose name is Kenji Noda. Although there is no bio, he was seen in the trailer debriefing intelligence files provided by the American government. We do hear him say, "There is something the government is not telling us," making us assume that he could be talking the American government that is hiding something, but he could also be talking about the Japanese government. During WWII, the Imperial Japanese army would torture their prisoners in horrendous ways that will make you feel more than squeamish. So it does make sense that the Japanese government would also cover up what they did to Godzilla. That is probably why we hear Shikishima say, "That monster…will never forgive us." Maybe Godzilla does have beef with Japan that goes beyond being bathed in nuclear energy and being mutated. Without Dr. Serizawa, there is no Oxygen Destroyer for the military to defeat Godzilla with.
I do think in some way, we will see a form of Godzilla that showed how he looked before he mutated, but we won't see a second Godzilla as described in the 4Chan leak. Ever since Shin Godzilla, Toho has been sort obsessed with the idea of making different evolutionary forms of Godzilla. This was revealed the reason Toho Co. went down this route with Godzilla having evolve in their latest movies is to sell more merchandise. They can sell action figures labeled as "Godzilla – Form A" and "Form B" or a Godzilla "Scarlet" version or Godzilla "Atomic Blast" version. They could make t-shirts, posters, underwear, lunch boxes, keychains and knick-knacks, and more all showing the many forms of Godzilla from that specific movie. As Yogurt once said, "Merchandising, merchandising! Where the real money from the movie is made!" So having multiple forms for Godzilla is an easier way for Toho Co. to sell more merchandise for the movie. As of yet, there seems to be no indication that another monster will appear, but I won't be surprised if we do see another Godzilla form rather than another monster that just so happened to be related to Godzilla.
Let us just say that there is another monster in Godzilla Minus One. Another trend Toho has been setting for themselves in the Reiwa era is them being really against showing monster fights. They really seem like they want to break away from having Godzilla fight another monster or if they do decide to show monsters fighting then it would last five seconds at most. Toho has been more focused on pushing story and drama for the Reiwa era. I don't mind a more story focused movie, but the characters in their Godzilla movies and anime have been really boring and they are trying to make their stories seem deep and complex when in reality none of the stories make any sense nor are they that deep. At least with monsters fighting or Godzilla wrecking cities, it keeps the audience entertained. In terms of fighting scenes, the trailer does not seem to hint at any other monster appearing in this film to fight Godzilla.
So far, Godzilla Minus One looks to be aiming to be a solo film much like the 1954 movie, Godzilla Returns, the Tristar movie, and Shin Godzilla. There are a lot of details from the 4Chan leak that has not appeared in the trailer or at least not yet. Based on the current trend, however, we are more likely to get a new form rather than a new monster, but that is to be determined.
What are your thoughts on the 4Chan leak? Do you think there is some legitimacy to the leak or do you think it's fake? Leave a comment in the comments section of your thoughts on the 4Chan leak of Godzilla Minus One. Make sure to follow me on Facebook, Minds, MeWe, Gab, and TRUTH Social to stay up to date for more news, reviews, and discussions.