Last Sunday morning, dozens of Tokyoites ran screaming through the streets of the Kamata neighborhood. Ordinarily, this would be cause for concern, but for cinema fans the world over, this is actually something to celebrate, as the crowds, caught on video, are proof that filming has begun for the newest made-in-Japan Godzilla movie.

It’s been announced that Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno is directing the film, and that Shinji Higuchi, director of the live-action Attack on Titan movies, is handling the special effects. We also know that the movie’s working title is Shin Godzilla (“New Godzilla”), but other than that, details are still scarce. Is it a sequel? A reboot? Will Godzilla be portrayed as an intimidating villain, or as mankind’s protector from other, even more destructive foes?

We won’t know for sure until the movie opens next summer, but one thing we will definitely see when it does is panicked citizens fleeing en masse from the world’s most famous kaiju. Twitter user River happened to be in Tokyo’s Kamata neighborhood last Sunday morning, where the streets had been shut down for Shin Godzilla filming, and so he turned his own camera on the action.

The Japanese movie industry doesn’t have anywhere near the level of clout that its American counterpart does, so it’s actually pretty unusual for film crews in Tokyo to actually get permission to shut down city streets. When you’re as big a star as the King of the Monsters, though, apparently exceptions are made.

Of course, this is just the start of filming, but it’s good to know that Shin Godzilla’s producers have checked off one of the boxes for scenes that must be included in a proper Godzilla movie. Here’s hoping soon we’ll get previews of the big guy destroying a building and showing off his atomic fire breath, preferably on any scriptwriter who suggests a Jurassic Park-style indoor chase scene.

Source: Hachima Kiko, Twitter/@88River88