Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (ゴジラ × メガギラス G消滅作戦, Gojira tai Megagirasu: Jī Shōmetsu Sakusen, lit. Godzilla × Megaguirus: The G Extermination Strategy[2] and Godzilla vs. Megaguirus: The G Annihilation Strategy)[3] is a 2000 Japanese kaiju film directed by Masaaki Tezuka, written by Hiroshi Kashiwabara and Wataru Mimura, produced by Shogo Tomiyama, and starring Misato Tanaka, Shōsuke Tanihara, Yuriko Hoshi, Masatoh Eve, and Toshiyuki Nagashima. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, it is the 25th film in the Godzilla franchise and the second film in the franchise's Millennium series, as well as the 24th Godzilla film produced by Toho. The film features the fictional monster characters Godzilla and Megaguirus, portrayed by Tsutomu Kitagawa and Minoru Watanabe, respectively. Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, despite featuring the same Godzilla suit that was used in its immediate predecessor, Godzilla 2000, the film ignores the events of the previous installment, as well as every other entry in the franchise aside from the original 1954 film Godzilla. Godzilla vs. Megaguirus premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival on November 3, 2000, and was released theatrically in Japan on December 16, 2000.