November 3rd marks Godzilla's 68th anniversary and there have been a lot of announcements coming out of projects and movie marathons that will be happening that day. There have also been some wild speculation about what we might or what some people want to see at Godzilla-Fest. After years of watching livestreams of Godzilla-Fest there is enough to speculate on which expectations needs to be tempered. So here is a list of things we shouldn't expect during this year's Godzilla-Fest.
Godzilla: Singular Point Season 2 Reveal
On October 6th, 2021, we got news that a new anime series based on Godzilla was coming to Netflix followed up with the our first look at Godzilla's new design. There interviews conducted during Godzilla-Fest that year talking about how this anime came to be and talking about the story. Now, there are rumors that season 2 is in development and many expect it to be revealed at this year's Godzilla-Fest. If season 2 is in the works, I do not think it is going to be revealed this year. It is more likely to be revealed next year and then released alongside the fifth Monsterverse movie in 2024.
As you might have heard, Toho Co. is already planing a one year march to Godzilla's 70th anniversary starting next year on his 69th anniversary. In the span of helping celebrate Godzilla's 70th, releasing the second season in 2024 will give three months covered already.
Another thing to point out is that any announcement for a show or a movie would most likely not be revealed on November 3rd. It will have to be revealed before November 3rd so then Toho Co. are given time to plan interviews with the cast. This is what they did for Godzilla: Singular Point back in 2020 and it will most likely happen for next year's Godzilla-Fest.
New Godzilla/Original Kaiju Movie Reveal
In the past anniversary events, Toho Co. likes to present some small projects that they worked on just for the fun of it. Last year, we got to see a Godzilla vs Hedorah short film to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Godzilla vs Hedorah. This year commemorates the 50th anniversary of Godzilla vs Gigan and a new short film titled Godzilla vs Gigan Rex was revealed for the event. Even though we have had reveals for short films, past events have shown that Toho Co. has not made one single reveal for any movie or show in every celebration.
Earlier this year, there was an announcement that was made exclusively on the Godzilla app about a new monster movie from Toho Co. was in production and there were casting calls for extras. All we know about the film is that this is a new movie set in 1945. There is no info on whether this movie is a Godzilla movie or a brand new monster movie. Either way whether it is a new Godzilla movie or a new monster movie, it will not be shown here at Godzilla-Fest. Godzilla-Fest is usually not the event that reveals a new movie.
Much like my explanation for Singular Point season 2, if a new movie is to be revealed then it would be revealed BEFORE Godzilla-Fest or next year or possibly 2024. If there is any sort of reveal, then during that march towards Godzilla's 70th anniversary is much more likely than this year's event.
Also, past Godzilla-Fest events has always concentrated on showing off brands and Godzilla related products to sell. This ranges from shirts to chocolates to liquor to collector quality figures from Bandai, X-Plus, S.H. MonsterArts, etc. So I expect this year to be no different and will most likely focus on Gigan's 50th anniversary products.
Monsterverse Reveals
Same explanation as the previous two, any movies or shows has never been and will not be revealed during a Godzilla-Fest. Godzilla-Fest has been strictly focused on the products and a couple of side projects made exclusively for the event. It is completely understandable we are at an all time high on the Monsterverse series with Netflix's Skull Island, Apple TV's live action Godzilla show, and the fifth Monsterverse film in 2024. Godzilla has never had this amount of hype in years and this era has felt so good to be alive just to see this amount of excitement generated for monster movies. However, Godzilla-Fest has mainly gave the Toho movies center stage.
Godzilla-Fest has never featured any of the Monsterverse movies at the event. Not even the toys were ever featured during the event. Neither Gareth Edwards, Michael Dougherty, nor Adam Wingard or any representative from Legendary Entertainment has come out to this event to talk about Godzilla and what he represents in their movies. And Legendary Entertainment does not need Godzilla-Fest to make announcements. They can make announcements on their own over social media.
In fact, it is more than safe to say that Toho sees Shin-Godzilla as their success story more than the Monsterverse. In Japan, Shin-Godzilla has made $75 million compared to Godzilla (2014), which made $25 million, Kong: Skull Island grossed $17 million, Godzilla: King of the Monsters made $25.4 million, and Godzilla vs Kong had made $16.34 million. As you can see, numbers show that one movie still tops the four American movies in terms of popularity in Japan. Shin-Godzilla is just more favorable in Japan than the four American films. This is why we keep seeing Shin-Godzilla in the majority of Godzilla-Fests and completely nothing on the Monsterverse. The Monsterverse seems to just not be as profitable in Japan.
If this Godzilla-Fest does give a segment about anything related to the Monsterverse it would most definitely be a first. I can see a small segment where Toho gives the Monsterverse series a commemoration for being successful everywhere else. Toho's plan back in 2019 was to expand the brand outside of Japan and the Monsterverse has done exactly that. So a small celebration for the Monsterverse might make sense at Godzilla-Fest. However, they won't talk about news of upcoming projects. No news on the Netflix Kong anime, Apple TV+ series, nor the fifth Monsterverse film.
Overall, we should not expect much announcements. Since this year is celebrating Gigan's 50th anniversary, the majority of Godzilla-Fest will be about Godzilla vs Gigan. If there are any announcements for movies or shows it would be done either the month before the event or the end of next year beginning the march to Godzilla's 70th anniversary. As for the Monsterverse, Legendary mainly does their own announcements and don't rely on Godzilla-Fest to do them. If they do get a segment, it will most likely be a small segment celebrating the success of the Monsterverse overseas since Toho's plan was to expand the Godzilla brand to international territory.
What do you expect or not expect to see at Godzilla-Fest? Do you believe we will get any announcements for a movie or show this time? Do you think it will be like last year with a bunch of product announcements and a short film? Leave a comment in the comments section of what you expect at Godzilla-Fest this year. Make sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Minds, MeWe, Gab, and TRUTH Social to stay up to date for more news, reviews, and discussions.