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Note: If you want to be absolutely spoiler-free, you might want to wait to watch this press conference as minor spoilers were discussed.

Last week I got to do something incredibly cool: I attended a private screening of Godzilla: King of the Monsters along with a number of reporters from around the world at Toho Studios in Tokyo. While everything about the movie is under embargo (for now), after the screening ended, director Michael Dougherty and Ken Watanabe sat down at the front of the theater and participated in a group press conference for about thirty minutes.

During the interview, Dougherty talked about how they decided which monsters were included in the film, the three-hour version of the film and why it didn’t work, how he decided how much to modernize the mythology, Easter eggs, the future of the franchise, how the Godzilla franchise has been doing a shared universe since the 50s, the balance of making this a strong film that stands on its own but is also part of the larger incredible history of Godzilla, which Kaiju Dougherty would want to include in a future Godzilla movie, what it was like working with Toho Studios, and so much more.

As most of you know from the trailers, Godzilla: King of the Monsters is the sequel to the 2014 film and stars Millie Bobby Brown, Vera Farmiga, Kyle Chandler, Bradley Whitford, Ken Watanabe, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Thomas Middleditch, Sally Hawkins, Mothra, the three-headed beast King Ghidorah, and the titanic Pteranodon Rodan. The film is in theaters May 31^st.

Finally, as someone that grew up watching Godzilla movies, Akira Kurosawa films, and Toho Studio movies, getting to walk around their studio was incredibly cool and something I’ll treasure forever.

Check out what Michael Dougherty and Ken Watanabe had to say in the player above and below is a list of everything that was talked about and the official synopsis.

Michael Dougherty and Ken Watanabe:

• Dougherty talks about some of the pranks he pulled on set.
• What led to the decision on what monsters were included in the film?
• How Dougherty found the tone of the film plus how he had a 3 hour cut of the film.
• How the film had a number of women that kicked ass.
• Does Dougherty want the audience to take away something about nature after watching the film?
• What’s Dougherty’s favorite Godzilla movie?
• How did Dougherty decide how much to modernize the mythology?
• How Dougherty loves Easter eggs.
• How did Dougherty put together the great cast and Watanabe talks about sharing the screen with a lot of new faces.
• Watanabe talks about his first memory of Godzilla as a kid.
• Watanabe talks about filming a key scene in the film.
• Dougherty talks about what it meant to direct a Godzilla movie and the future of the franchise.
• How the Godzilla franchise has been doing a shared universe since the 50s.

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  How a previous civilization on Earth figured out how to live with Godzilla.
• Dougherty talks about how if you add Godzilla to any movie it always makes it better.
• The balance of making this a strong film that stands on its own but is also part of the larger incredible history of Godzilla.
• If Dougherty directs another Godzilla movie which Kaiju would he want to include?
• Dougherty talks about what it was like working with Toho Studios.

Here’s the official synopsis for Godzilla: King of the Monsters:

The new story follows the heroic efforts of the crypto-zoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah.  When these ancient super-species—thought to be mere myths—rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity’s very existence hanging in the balance.