Bandai Namco has once again made a major impact at this year’s New York Comic Con (NYCC), bringing Godzilla back to the showroom with a dedicated booth for fans of all ages to explore and enjoy! I had the immense privilege of interviewing Justin Cavender, Senior Marketing Manager at Bandai Namco Toys & Collectibles America!
It was a pleasure to reconnect with Justin, as Kaiju United has previously crossed paths with him during the iconic Ultraman: LIVE event at American Dream in November 2025. This year, Kaiju United was graciously invited back for another interview, giving us the chance to discuss Bandai Namco’s large presence at NYCC, especially the Godzilla Booth and what it offered fans.
Kaiju United: Justin, it’s great to see you again! Thank you so much for putting together such a fantastic experience at this year’s convention, especially with the Godzilla booth. It’s wonderful having the Minus One suit come out for meet-and-greets. How has the convention been treating you so far?
Justin: Oh man, it’s been great. New York City is one of our favorite stops. I just love the energy, I love the crowd, I love everything about it! The cosplay alone is worth the price of admission.
Kaiju United: What do you enjoy most about the process of bringing these booths and experiences to life for fans? And when it comes to deciding which franchises to highlight at conventions like NYCC, what is your usual approach to selecting them?
Justin: It’s definitely a group effort; there are a lot of teams we have that meet up during trade show meetings every single week. Once this show ends, we’ll do our postmortem and figure out what went well and what we could do better; then the conversation pretty much starts for next year. It’s a very long and grueling process for coming up with everything. As you know, Bandai has a lot of different brands; we all got to come together and collaborate and give every single product the attention it deserves, and in this case, you know, it’s all IP-specific. There’s a Dragon Ball booth, there’s Tamashii Nations, but then there’s also Tamagotchi, there’s Godzilla, gashapon, and even video games for Bandai Entertainment.
There’s a lot of moving pieces, and I think what’s great about that is that it allows the brands to highlight what needs to be highlighted and what’s relevant. Like in this case, Godzilla Minus Zero is coming out soon, so it makes perfect sense to spend this year highlighting Godzilla. At San Diego Comic-Con, we had this really cool photo op where you got inside a plane, and it looked like Godzilla was attacking you. So it was really cool to be able to highlight Godzilla in particular with the upcoming release.
Kaiju United: How do you decide which Godzilla figures deserve the spotlight at conventions like this? Do you tend to focus on the latest releases, highlight classic figures, or go for a mix of old and new?
Justin: A lot of times, it’s a mix of old and new. In this case, it’s kind of a perfect storm where we have Minus Zero coming out, and then early next year, we have the Legendary MonsterVerse Godzilla. There’s a lot for people to look forward to in the coming months, so it’s a good time to be a Godzilla fan.
When that happens, it’s always fun to bring attention back to an older version of Godzilla. The hype is all right there, right? If you can catch that spark and build a figure, then it just makes sense.
Kaiju United: How valuable is an event like NYCC in understanding what Godzilla fans want to see from Bandai?
Justin: It’s very important because it’s a very customer-facing experience. People can buy merchandise anywhere, but I think they come to conventions to really enjoy the experience itself.
That’s why we like having suit actors come by, giving fans that cool photo op to meet Godzilla. It’s not just buying things; it’s building memories, so I think that’s an important part of it.
We’re also very receptive to feedback. I spend my nights on my screen scrolling through comments of what people are saying. I’m very receptive to feedback; it’s my job to take that information and bring it to the people who need to hear it, and then we go from there.
Kaiju United: What have been some of the challenges in bringing Tokusatsu properties like Godzilla or Ultraman to the United States, and how were you able to overcome those challenges?
Justin: It varies depending on the IP and its popularity. Ultraman, for example, has been around for a very long time, and US audiences are familiar with him when they see him. But they might not necessarily know much about the character of the franchise.
I think accessibility has always been a major factor. Where can people watch Ultraman or Kamen Rider? Kamen Rider is a great tokusatsu series, but audiences in the United States haven’t always had easy access to it. That’s changed recently with initiatives like their YouTube Global Watch.
Accessibility is a major factor, so anything we can do to build brand awareness is important. Just a couple of years ago, we had an Ultraman booth, and last year we met at the Ultraman: LIVE experience at American Dream. So it’s cool to do stuff like that to introduce more people to these franchises.
Kaiju United: New York Comic Con is a premium convention for our media industry. What do you like about working at conventions of this size?
Justin: Oh man, I love the people I’ve met through events like New York Comic Con. I’ve made so many friends over the years, and there are so many wonderful people in the industry who come by to catch up and have a good time. We get to go back and forth, have interviews, and create some fun content together.
What I look forward to most is simply reconnecting with old friends and making new ones!
Kaiju United: As we get ready for Godzilla Minus Zero to arrive in just a few weeks, what message would you like to share with Godzilla fans in the context of the world today?
Justin: It’s going to be a wild ride! This is a great time to be a Godzilla fan, and I think everyone has a lot to look forward to. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Kaiju United: Justin, thank you very much!
Justin: My pleasure!
Bandai continues to give fans memorable experiences, and with Godzilla Minus Zero on the horizon, the best is for sure yet to come. A huge thank you to Justin Cavender and the Bandai Namco crew for taking the time to speak with Kaiju United. We look forward to seeing what’s next!
