After being delayed by COVID-19, Shin Ultraman has a release date for Japan: May 13, 2022. The following spring — March 2023, to be exact — will see the domestic theatrical release of Shin Kamen Rider, meaning back to back years of eagerly awaited tokusatsu movies.
How cool is that?
The latest trailer has a first look at the reimagined Ultraman unleashing an Ultra Beam.
Shin Ultraman is an upcoming entry in Anno’s Shin trilogy, which are new (or “shin” in Japanese) reworkings of classic Japanese characters.
Evangelion creator Hideak Anno is working on both new Ultraman and Kamen Rider picture. Previously, he co-directed Shin Godzilla with Shinji Higuchi. This time, however, Higuchi is directing Shin Ultraman, while Anno is producing and writing the script. Anno is handling both writing and directing duties for Shin Kamen Rider.
Takumi Saitoh, who previously appeared in Shin Godzilla, will star as the lead in Shin Ultraman. He will be joined by Masami Nagasawa, whose kaiju cred includes Godzilla: Final Wars, respected actor Hidetoshi Nishijima, and Daiki Arioka of boy band Hey Say Jump. Bin Furuya who stared in the 1966 Ultraman series as the title character will also make an appearance in the upcoming film.
From the sound of it, Higuchi is still deep in production on the upcoming film. “We’re still not done [working on Shin Ultraman],” he said in a live event today in Tokyo (via Mainichi). “We’re still making it. We work and work on it, and it doesn’t end.”
Higuchi previously worked in anime, writing for Neon Genesis Evangelion and doing storyboards for a variety of projects. He’s also done special, and visual effects on kaiju films including Shin Godzilla and the 1990s Gamera movies. Previously, he directed the two Japanese live-action adaptations of Attack on Titan — which I did not enjoy. Fingers crossed he does better with Ultraman.
There’s no word yet on the international release dates for Shin Ultraman or Shin Kamen Rider.
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