Post-war Japan, still reeling from effects of the atom bombs dropped by the US, wakes up to yet another terrible vision — Godzilla wreaking havoc in Tokyo, trampling down people in the city centre and destroying buildings in the trailer of Takashi Yamazaki’s upcoming sci-fi war drama Godzilla Minus One.

The one-minute-28-second-long trailer, unveiled on Monday, shows us how Japan confronts a monster attack at a time it is trying to regroup as a nation after being ravaged in the aftermath of World War II. The clip shows how a giant monster called Godzilla (known as Gojira in Japanese) becomes awakened due to a nuclear reaction caused by the atomic explosions, causing destruction and carnage in the capital city of Tokyo. The clip begins with people running frantically around the city to save themselves and reveals Godzilla to be the cause of the chaos.

Mentioning that post-war Japan went from being “zero” to “minus”, the trailer gives a glimpse of a US document containing information about Godzilla’s origin, hinting that the monster was born out of a man-made disaster. However, it seems that Japan has been left to fend for itself without any external help.

Produced by Japanese entertainment company Toho, Godzilla Minus One is slated to release in theatres across Japan on November 3. It will be the closing film at the 36th Tokyo International Film Festival. The film will arrive in North American cinemas on December 1.

The legend of Godzilla began on the big screen with Japanese director Ishirō Honda’s 1954 film, which was named after the monster and intended as an allegory for the devastating effects of nuclear weapons, drawing on Japan's experiences with atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.