GKIDSWarning! Spoilers ahead for Godzilla Minus Zero.The odd thing about Godzilla Minus Zero is that Godzilla doesn’t show up until more than halfway through the movie. Instead, the main kaiju at the center of the Godzilla Minus One sequel is actually King Ghidorah, a dragon-like creature that has emerged two years after Godzilla’s apparent defeat. As Ghidorah rampages across Japan, growing stronger and more powerful with every attempt to bring it down, the Large-Scale Disaster Response Bureau chief Kenji Noda (Hidetaka Yoshioka) must get the team back together to defeat this new kaiju threat. But all their efforts, including those of genius meteorologist Makoto Aoyama (Masami Nagasawa) and slightly unhinged biologist Professor Kanji Murakami (Min Tanaka), are fruitless in the face of the ever-evolving, seemingly unkillable Ghidorah. That is, until Godzilla shows up.“Looking at all of Godzilla's history, I think Ghidorah is very much positioned as a very strong rival to Godzilla throughout the years,” Godzilla Minus Zero director Takashi Yamazaki tells Inverse via translator. That’s why it was crucial for the climax of Godzilla Minus Zero to be a “fight to the death” for the two kaiju.“It’s a duel between these two massive godlike creatures,” Yamazaki says. “So whoever, whatever was standing across Godzilla needed to be similar in power and strength, which I think Ghidorah is one of the few kaiju that checked all those boxes.”But getting two godlike monsters to fight each other is easier said than done. Yamazaki and Minus Zero stars Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe sat down with Inverse to break down the team’s hare-brained plan to defeat both Ghidorah and Godzilla, and what happens next.What Are G-Cells And Why Are They Important?Kōichi and Noriko prepare for the fight of all fights. | GKIDSOne key to the team’s plan to defeat the two kaiju comes in a very unexpected form: Noriko (Minami Hamabe). It turns out that she managed to survive Godzilla Ginza attack at the end of Godzilla Minus One because she was exposed to Godzilla’s G-Cells, the radioactive cells that give Godzilla his regenerative abilities. But she was also the only one to survive this exposure to the mutating G-Cells — every other survivor who was exposed eventually died. Somehow, the G-Cells became compatible with Noriko’s body, only showing in the form of a black, scaly mark on her neck, and one eye gone completely yellow. It’s Professor Murakami’s idea to use Noriko’s G-Cells with his “Resonance Wave” device — which imitates frequencies of creatures that can’t be heard by human ears — to lure Godzilla towards Ghidorah. But Yamazaki reveals that this crucial plot point almost came about by accident.“That particular scene where we see Noriko and that black mark on her neck was not planned when we were shooting Godzilla Minus One actually,” Yamazaki says. “Because in the film she effectively dies, but when bringing her back, it felt like we needed some kind of reason or justification as to why or how she survived. We had no idea that that was going to play a very pivotal role in the sequel.”King Ghidorah reigns. | GKIDSHowever, Yamazaki doesn’t take credit for inventing the concept of human and G-Cell mutations. “I want to say in Godzilla vs. Biollante [1989], human cells and Godzilla cells and Biollante cells all merged together to create that kaiju,” Yamazaki muses. “So I can't take credit for inventing it or going from zero to one.”The team sets the trap in Ginza, where Godzilla had wreaked havoc two years earlier. Using huge electric generators to lure in the lightning-drawn Ghidorah, the team puts Noriko, Professor Murakami, and his “Resonance Wave” device on a plane piloted by Kōichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), who insists on staying close to his now-wife. Ghidorah arrives first, and Noda and co. attempt to buy time by freezing him with liquid nitrogen before setting him on fire, but they take massive casualties, including — eventually — Noda himself. When it looks like all hope is lost, Noriko and the “Resonance Wave” successfully lure in Godzilla. Godzilla and Ghidorah have their fight to the death, with Godzilla finally getting the upper hand and destroying Ghidorah.Professor Murakami demonstrators his “Resonance Wave” device. | GKIDSBut that’s not the end — the U.S. military, which had been sending some aid to the Japanese government in their fight against Ghidorah for questionable purposes, finally reveals its intention: to take control of Godzilla and weaponize him. Key to their plan would be the “Resonance Wave,” which Professor Murakami had originally invented with the hopes of using Godzilla as a weapon of vengeance against the Americans after losing his family in Hiroshima, and, of course, Noriko. But while Kōichi and Noriko successfully flee after destroying the “Resonance Wave” and Professor Murakami burns his notes, the U.S. authorities manage to capture Murakami.Not A GoodbyeGoodbye? | GKIDSRealizing that Noriko’s unique G-Cell mutation would make her a target, Kōichi and Noriko prepare for a life on the run. They drop off their adopted daughter Akiko (Sae Nagatani) with their neighbor and plan to leave Tokyo. But after they defeat Ghidorah, they can’t help but say goodbye to Akiko one last time. But after a tearful goodbye, Kōichi and Noriko can’t bring themselves to leave her, and we cut to Akiko happily sitting in the front of their motorcycle as Kōichi and Noriko drive away. It’s a pleasant surprise after all the death and devastation — but Kamiki reveals that Godzilla Minus Zero almost went in a different direction.“I believe there were two paths and two options for this family, whether or not to end up together or to be separated,” Kamiki tells Inverse via translator. “And this might sound like a weird hot take, but I think both options in their own right are a means of protecting the family, whether they're together or not. And the Shikishima family made their choice and chose a path that they thought was going to protect the family in Minus Zero. It's hard to say what path or what answer is correct because I think that all depends on the individual's worldview and their own set of values. But when I did read the ending in Godzilla Minus Zero, it went the path that I was hoping it would.”Takashi Yamazaki on set. | GKIDSWhether this is a happy ending for the Shikishima family though, is up for interpretation, Hamabe observes. “Both Kōichi and Noriko have very stern expressions on their face as they're riding off into the sunset,” Hamabe tells Inverse via translator. “And I think each one of them has a different reason for that stern expression. But I think whether they're looking at slightly different directions, it was a very good ending because what the future holds for each one of them is still a little bit unknown.”So, does Hamabe know the full extent of how the G-Cells work in Noriko’s body? If Noriko can call Godzilla to her, for example, could it work the other way around?“Whether Godzilla sort of has an effect on Noriko in the opposite way that I did on Godzilla in Minus Zero, I think connections like these couldn't be a one-way street,” Hamabe says thoughtfully. “Because we're connected, I think there's some kind of symbiotic relationship happening on some level. So perhaps next time Godzilla appears or is close to the coast, I'm sure Noriko will feel something. Some change will happen within her. “What’s Next?Noda discourages Murakami from taking revenge. | GKIDSIt seems like Godzilla Minus Zero leaves the door open for a lot of its characters, including Godzilla, who has seemingly returned to the ocean. But Yamazaki is coy on whether he plans a sequel.“I mean, I would love to know myself what happens to all of our characters next as well,” Yamazaki says. “But hopefully Murakami can overcome his trauma and nothing too sad will happen to him in the future. And we have our family unit together. And I mean, I don't know what's going to happen next beyond this ending. Part of me thinks, well, maybe it'll be the most graceful to end it right here, and the other part of me wants to see what happens next. So I think it's a complicated relationship that I have with this universe.”Okay, but if he were to do a third Minus movie, would he pick another beloved kaiju from Godzilla’s rich rogue’s gallery? “Well, that's a question to which only Toho knows the answer,” Yamazaki says wryly, “but if it were up to me, I think it would be very interesting to perhaps even create an original kaiju to explore in another film.”Godzilla Minus Zero is playing in theaters.