In July 2016, Toho Co. had released their first Godzilla film in twelve years called Shin Godzilla. Directed Hideaki Anno (known for the hit anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion), his aim was to reinvent the monster in terms of his allegory. Godzilla was still created as a bi-product and child of nuclear radiation, but he would represent the tsunami that hit Japan in 2011 as well as the Fukushima Daiichi disaster afterwards rather than being born from the hydrogen bomb. By updating Godzilla in this way, it resonated with Japan so much that it became a big box office success in Japan.
There would be rumors and talks of a sequel (under working title Shin Godzilla Raids Again) that ultimately never got made, but Shin Godzilla would pave the way for more movies using the "Shin" banner such as Shin Ultraman, Shin Kamen Rider, and Shin Evangelion (aka Evangelion 3.0+1.0) and a marketing campaign labeled "Shin Japan Heroes Universe" which aimed to sell merchandise. However, there is one piece of media that was never seen outside of Japan.
On December 31st, there was a Shin Godzilla short film that was shown only on Japanese television to ring in the new year. It had actors from the 2016 film return to confront the monster once again and the short was described to mirror the same scenes from the movie. Based on the photos, it looks like the whole short film was made like a news reel as if this is actually being reported and Godzilla was attacking Tokyo, which sounds pretty cool.
There is one shot that looks like Godzilla has actually grown bigger as he is in scale with Tokyo Tower even though he was not that big in the 2016 movie. Godzilla in the actual movie was supposed to be around 388 feet tall while Tokyo Tower stands at 1,092 feet tall. On the other hand, it could also be perspective of distance and the photo being blurry. The tower could just be further away and the blurriness of the photo is making Godzilla look bigger than he really is.
Sadly, there are only blurry photos of this short film and it is nowhere to be found on YouTube, at least at the time I am writing this post. Maybe we will see a video randomly pop up eventually. Even the deleted scene from Godzilla (2014) with Akira Takarada's cameo shot has finally been revealed years after the movie's theatrical release. So I am hoping that eventually someone will upload this short film. Anything that is lost to time can be found again.
Credit goes out to "D Man1954" over on Twitter for finding and sharing these photos. He also does Godzilla content videos on YouTube. So make sure to check him out when you get the chance.
What are your thoughts on this lost media? Do you think we will ever see it or do you think it is lost to time? Leave a comment in the comments section of your thoughts on the Shin Godzilla short film lost media in the comments section. 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.