Godzilla is a 1998 American monster film directed by Roland Emmerich, who co-wrote the screenplay with producer Dean Devlin. It is a reboot of Toho Co., Ltd.'s Godzilla franchise and the 23rd film in the franchise. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Jean Reno, Maria Pitillo, Hank Azaria, Kevin Dunn, Michael Lerner, and Harry Shearer. The film is dedicated to Tomoyuki Tanaka, the co-creator and producer of various Godzilla films, who died in April 1997.