'Godzilla Minus Zero' held its world premiere on Saturday at the New York Film Festival, debuting as the Spotlight Gala selection at Alice Tully Hall. The Toho film is director Takashi Yamazaki's direct sequel to the Oscar-winning 'Godzilla Minus One.'

The sequel picks up two years after the 2023 film, with Godzilla still alive. Returning stars Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe reprise their roles. At the festival's morning press conference, Yamazaki said he studied fan theories online, then set out to do the opposite. 'My goal with Minus Zero was to shock audiences and do something that they didn't predict on the internet,' he said through an interpreter.

'Godzilla Minus Zero' is the first film in the franchise's 72-year history to receive an R rating, for violent content and bloody images. Yamazaki told Variety at the premiere that censoring the action 'was not an option' for him as director.

Early reviews put the sequel at about 92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, compared with 99 percent for 'Minus One.' The film opens in Japan on November 3 and in North American theaters on November 6.