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Godzilla looks big, ugly, and scary as hell in new trailer for Japanese reboot

Godzilla looks big, ugly, and scary as hell in new trailer for Japanese reboot

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Japanese film studio Toho created the original Godzilla all the way back in 1954, and is rebooting the franchise for 2016. The first trailer for Shin Godzilla (translated in a few different ways, but essentially meaning "New Godzilla") gives our clearest look at everyone's favorite kaiju yet, with the monster's upright stance calling to mind its earlier incarnations as a man in a Godzilla. This isn't too far off the mark for Shin Godzilla, either, as the film reportedly uses a mixture of computers graphics, puppets, and animatronics to render Godzilla onscreen.

recalling the 2011 fukushima daiichi disaster

As for actual plot goes, the trailer isn't giving away much, but it does seem the film will focus quite a bit on the government and military's reaction to the monster. There are plenty of shots of harried-looking government workers, and as RocketNews24 points out, the people in the trailer dressed in blue overalls look eerily similar to the employees of the Tokyo Electric Power Company who operated the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant during the 2011 disaster. The original Godzilla was a metaphor for the uncontrollable destructive power of nuclear weapons after WWII, and Shin Godzilla might offer a similarly symbolic reaction to contemporary events.

It's not clear from this trailer alone, but is has been reported that this will be the largest Godzilla to appear on screen. The monster certainly has a gnarlier than usual look, with a scarred, mutilated face, and burned, crusty skin like cooling lava. Oh, and that tail! It looks almost half as tall again as Godzilla's body, swishing slowly and menacingly over the tops of buildings. We're excited to see more, with Godzilla Shin getting its Japanese release on July 29th this year.