The pop culture properties of yesteryear, that helped lay the foundation for the characters and stories we know and love today seem to be making a comeback in full force. Not only in America but even in Japan. The latest property at bat is none other than the kaiju fighting godfather himself, Ultraman.
The news broke over at Asahi Shinbum, where they stated that this new 3-D animated film would be helmed by Kenji Kamiyama (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex) and Shinji Aramaki (Appleseed). The film will be produced by Production I.G Inc. (Ghost in the Shell, Evangelion, Batman: Gotham Knight) and Sola Digital Arts (Tekken 7 opening movie). We were also told that the cast would be announced later in the year. Considering that the manga series alone has over 2.6 million copies in print, it is safe to say that this A-list treatment is well deserved.
While everyone who remembers Ultraman as a giant, primary colored, superhero who fought Kaiju; this new interpretation will be changing the formula of what we knew of the character. According to the creators of the film, this will be a sequel to the original TV series. The synopsis follows the son of the original Ultraman. The young hero, Shinjiro Hayata, now only dons the suit of Ultraman to take on the new threats that his world holds for him. The main change? He will not transform into the colossal protector of earth.
But how Ultra can a human sized Ultraman be? Well to try and answer that, we were also given a teaser poster of the hero and a short teaser video to display the animation that you can see below. While the teaser is the same from Tokyo comic-con in 2017; the poster gives us a look at a possibly battle damaged Ultraman.
Personally, I am very intrigued by where this property could go! It has been years since I have watched Ultraman (My first exposure was Ultraman Tiga on the FoxBox) and a refreshing take could be just what this character needs!
With the movie slated for a 2019 release and two years in the making, with a stellar production crew who have more than proved themselves, one has to ask if this version of Ultraman will "measure up" to its predecessor?
Are you excited to see a classic hero return to the screen? Enticed by the animation style? What was your first introduction to Ultraman? Sound off below!