Godzilla Minus Zero is out now, and like its predecessor, it’s got quite a bit going on for the humans. The Shikishima family unfortunately find themselves at the forefront of the government’s efforts to repel the newly emerged Ghidorah and eventually Godzilla, and not just because Kōichi (Ryunosuke Kamiki) defeated the latter once before.

Halfway into the film, we learn that Noriko (Hamabe) has G-cells in her bloodstream. Of those who survived the devastation of Ginza in Godzilla Minus One, she’s the only one who hasn’t died from the radioactive cells, which has also affected her body and one of her eyes. Talking with Inverse, director/writer Takashi Yamazaki revealed two things about this plot point: it came about accidentally, and it’s not something he came up with on his own.

To the first point, he said the black mark on Noriko’s neck when Kōichi reunites with her “was not planned” during Minus One’s production. “In that film, she effectively dies, but when bringing her back, it felt like we needed some kind of reason as to why or how she survived,” he explained. “We had no idea that was going to play a very pivotal role in the sequel.”

As for that second part, Yamazaki credited 1989’s Godzilla vs. Biollante for introducing G-cells into the franchise. That film saw corporations fighting for Godzilla’s cells to use for their own ends, something Godzilla Minus Zero gestures at with Ghidorah absorbing G-cells to gain its own heat ray, and Murakami wanting to control Godzilla to destroy New York.

Source link