The director of Godzilla Minus One has his cast.
Takashi Yamazaki, who won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects in 2024, is now building his first English-language studio film. According to Deadline, he has found his leads: Sam Nivola and Nico Parker.
Nivola, who broke through as Lochlan Ratliff in HBO's The White Lotus season three, and Parker, who played Astrid in the live-action How to Train Your Dragon, reportedly had the best chemistry during auditions for Grandgear. The pairing signals a deliberate choice: two performers known for emotional precision rather than franchise weight.
Paul Giamatti is in talks to join the cast, per Deadline. J.J. Abrams and Glen Zipper are producing through Bad Robot, with Sony Pictures distributing. Filming is expected to begin in 2027, and Sony has set a release date of February 18, 2028.
The plot remains under wraps. Test footage screened at CinemaCon earlier this year reportedly showed a giant robot in combat with a kaiju, suggesting Yamazaki is not entirely leaving the genre behind. Grandgear will be his first major studio project.