'Godzilla' Teaser Trailer

Monsters director Gareth Edwards is the man entrusted by Toho, Legendary, and Warner Bros. to revamp Godzilla — or more properly, to bring him back to speed as the giant nuclear monster that owns the hearts of moviegoers. Edwards said this week, "To me, he's like a force of nature, like the wrath of God or vengeance for the way we've behaved... I want it to be epic. I want to get the hairs on the back of your neck up."

You've probably seen the proof of concept Godzilla trailer that debuted at Comic Con a couple years ago, as it has done the rounds as a high-quality bootleg. But here's something much better: the full trailer, which features the cast (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins, David Strathairn, Bryan Cranston) but even better shows off the monster of the title.

The hairs on the back of your neck might just stand up when you see a squad of soldiers diving to meet the monster in what looks like a suicide mission, and that's just the beginning. This is a teaser that really tries to tease, and that suggests it isn't just playing a marketing game. This looks like a horror movie, which is just as it should be. Check it out below.

First, here's Edwards' intro to the footage:

And the trailer itself:

That shot in the middle of the teaser, with all the fire seen through the windows of an airport terminal, is part of a big sequence that was shown off at Comic Con this year. It was a great-looking bit of film, featuring another monster that was dwarfed by Godzilla. But as this teaser shows, this version of the monster isn't something to be taken lightly.

Godzilla opens on May 16.

An epic rebirth to Toho's iconic Godzilla, this spectacular adventure pits the world's most famous monster against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity's scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence.