As another example of Asian live-action and animated screen productions’ rapid and accelerating growth globally, Toho is increasing its footprint in Europe.

Toho Europe, the regional arm of Tokyo-based entertainment group Toho Co., Ltd. – founded in 1932 and best known internationally for the “Godzilla” franchise – announced a new branch in France. The company has been expanding across the European market since acquiring Anime Ltd. earlier this year, and said the French office would serve as a foundation for deeper engagement with the country’s film and animation industries.

cross-posted from: https://startrek.website/post/44201153

As the US financial markets, politicians and entertainment media obsess about mergers and moving production of US scripted shows back to the United States, this seems like an enormous reality check. The United States provides less and less of the scripted entertainment globally.

It squashes the long held beliefs that the world watches/prefers American popular entertainment exports over those made at home or in other countries and regions.

There’s a new global leader in greenlights.

Over the first half of 2026, Asia surpassed both North America and Europe to become the world’s leader in streaming scripted orders, the researchers at Ampere Analysis have found. From January through June, 36 percent of “first-run scripted TV orders from the leading global streamers” (Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, HBO Max, Netflix and Paramount+) originated in the APAC (Asia-Pacific, which encompasses countries in East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania) region.

What’s unfortunate for members of this instance is that, in this process, it’s science fiction and fantasy that are being crowded out on the major streamers. (Perhaps that’s because English speaking science fiction and fantasy viewers are less willing to give scripted shows in and films in other languages a try…? )

Here’s a chart of the trends :

As a Canadian, who sees many of our Canadian productions obscure that they are set in Canada or even outright pretend to be in the USA even when based on Canadian source material, I hope that this means that we can tell our own stories without having to obscure our identity for distribution to international audiences.

Test screenings appear to have been completed for the upcoming Legendary Pictures Monsterverse cinematic release (expected in 2027 as opposed to the upcoming *Godzilla Minus Zero from Toho).

The buzz is coming from ‘anonymous screener reports’ to fan sites and IMDb.

Seems positive. Reportedly, the cartoonish extremes have been dialed back somewhat but still not as grounded as Godzilla (2014) and *Kong: Skull Island or Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.

Just posted today on the creator’s Mastodon account.

Local media in Prague, Czech Republic, are continuing to provide updates on early production for Birdwatcher — working title for the new Monsterverse Monarch: Legacy of Monsters spinoff show focused on Lee Shaw during the Cold War in the 1980s.

The Prague Reporter can reveal exclusive photos from the production, showing star Wyatt Russell on location alongside an array of period props and vehicles. The imagery points to a story set in the Soviet Union during the Cold War, with Russell’s Lee Shaw apparently operating undercover and under pursuit by the KGB…

…The Prague Reporter’s exclusive set photos offer the clearest look yet at Birdwatcher‘s Cold War setting. Several images show period props featuring Cyrillic lettering, while others capture Russell in scenes that appear to depict his character moving covertly behind the Iron Curtain...

…e Cyrillic markings on props strongly suggest that Birdwatcher is portraying the Soviet Union, although the specific locations represented by the scenes have not been officially identified. Previous reports have placed the story in 1984, when Shaw is sent on a secret mission behind enemy lines to prevent the Soviet Union from unleashing a Titan capable of changing the course of the Cold War.

Here a couple of the large number of behind the scenes photos from the article.

Note: the lower photo for bread store #61 🍞— хлеб is Russian for bread.

A review and update on the latest IDW comic offering in the Godzilla franchise as well as a reflection on the evolution of comics as separate narratives from screen.

Flash forward to the modern era and Godzilla comics are just fucking weird! No concept seems to be too outlandish. No crossover too absurd. No retcon too sacrilegious.

Indeed, if you’ve picked up a book from IDW lately (the custodians of the brand as far as print is concerned), you’ll have been exposed to some of the wackiest takes on the King of the Monsters imaginable. He’s been sent to hell (both Norse and Catholic), corrupted by the Venom symbiote, fought 16th-century pirates, and been the subject of a geopolitical conspiracy that triggered the respective assassinations of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Bugsy Siegel and Abraham Lincoln. Some of those things all happened in the same batshit story!

Breaking news on Godzilla Minus Zero world premiere.

The 2026 NY Film Festival will host the world premiere of Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus Zero.

The sequel to sleeper hit Godzilla Minus One will screen as the Spotlight gala selection on Sept. 26 at the 64th annual event.

Cool article about a great initiative.

If you’re not reading articles frequently from The Japan Times, the paywall shouldn’t kick in.

A suitably summery Godzilla cartoon from Grickle. Available for purchase from the creator at the link to their website.

Titans in a theme park ride set in the Hollow Earth? Sounds cool.

A press release describes it as a “multimedia dark ride,” as well as “the world’s first attraction to integrate Legendary’s Monsterverse into a fully immersive theme park experience,” and it’s joining Lotte World Adventure‘s slate of attractions starting July 24. Here’s an effects-heavy trailer setting the mood but not giving too much actual insight into what to expect.

Wish it were closer than Seoul, South Korea. Perhaps Canada’s Wonderland could add something like this?

A new official trailer for Godzilla Minus Zero was dropped today by Toho.

Enjoy!

I’ll come back with another post with links to some of the trailer analyses out there after a few days

While the production information in US-based entertainment media have emphasized that the new Apple Cold War 1980s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters spinoff — working title Birdwatcher — will be shooting in Australia or South Pacific locations, it appears that production licences are in place for Prague and surrounding areas in Czechia.

Given the Cold War focus, locations in Eastern Europe make sense. Canadian locations can only stand in for so much of Russia and Kazakhstan (as they did in Monarch). Prague features in many shows needing urban Eastern European locations now that Russian coproductions are not viable.

In the May issue of Location Internationalmagazine, Czech Film Commissioner Pavlína Žipková discusses international productions filming in the country this year, and references the project under the title The American Birdwatcher. 

Stillking Films, one of the Czech Republic’s leading production service companies, has registered the project with the Czech Audiovisual Fund and will coordinate local production activities.

JG Dillard shared this first behind the scenes production photo on Instagram for the new ‘Young Lee Shaw’ Monsterverse Apple spinoff series starring Wyatt Russell.

The working title is ’Birdwatcher’. Production started in mid June.

For those not aware a ‘Godzilla El Niño’ is forecast for Africa in the coming months.

It’s a serious threat to the well-being of the population on the continent. Seems worthy of the name.

Severe damage to agriculture and infrastructure is expected across large parts of the continent, and Africa has just a few months to prepare.

Both droughts and floods may cause “severe” exacerbation of food insecurity, says Rainer, who notes that some of the worst affected areas are also grappling with the effects of conflict. “In the worst case, drought can mean a complete loss of the harvest including the seeds for the next season, especially if non-adapted varieties, for example of maize, are grown.”

Climate models suggest Africa has just a few months to prepare for the short-term impacts.

This cash-crop industry perspective from a coffee industry publication definitely is doing its bit to serve its clientele.

Now in its pre-order period, this remastered release of the Atari classic is getting some enthusiastic reviews.

This may be billed as a remaster, but Pipeworks hasn’t just juiced the resolution and called it a destroyed city. These monsters – and the environments they’re rampaging through – look great. Seriously, go find footage of the original game and then go watch footage from this.

Mastodon has a great number of watch and rewatch communities.

#Remonsterdon looks to be new. Dedicated Godzilla watch parties will be taking place the first Sunday of each month.

Information in the upcoming one this Sunday, with the 1956 English release with Raymond Burr, is in the linked post from the Mastodon host @klu9@ohai.social.

These watch parties are not affiliated with this Lemmy community or StarTrek.website but look interesting.

The creator https://mastodon.social/@jean_vincent_thelant is on Mastodon and has agreed that his pieces be shared here.

Visual Effects supervisor Sean Konrad discusses how Godzilla, Kong, a scarab horde, and the seemingly unstoppable new Titan X highlighted more than 3,000 shots he oversaw on the hit Monsterverse series, now streaming on Apple TV.

“THE HORROR OF GODZILLA is for fans of Godzilla Minus One, Shin Godzilla, and Godzilla ‘54,” added editor Jake Williams. “It's a terrifying look at the Kai-Sei era's first Godzilla attack. It grabs the reader and places them on the ground in the middle of the most petrifying night in human history… the arrival of Godzilla. Through the power of Tristan Jones' visceral art style, this is the first Godzilla comic we've released that goes 100% in on horror. It very well might become the best Godzilla comic ever made… it's certainly the scariest.”