Godzilla 2000: Millennium is a 1999 Japanese kaiju film directed by Takao Okawara, with special effects by Kenji Suzuki. Distributed by Toho and produced under their subsidiary Toho Pictures, it is the 24th film in the Godzilla franchise, Toho's 23rd Godzilla film, and the first film in the franchise's Millennium era. The film stars Takehiro Murata, Hiroshi Abe, Naomi Nishida, Mayu Suzuki, and Shirō Sano, with Tsutomu Kitagawa as Godzilla and Makoto Itō as Orga. Ignoring the continuity of all previous Godzilla films except the original 1954 film, it follows a group tracking Godzilla while an alien UFO appears and poses a new threat to Japan.