Ultraman is having a big year for his 55th birthday. We already know about Hideaki Anno’s Shin Ultraman film and the new Ultraman Trigger TV series. Now, Netflix wants to make a CG-animated Ultraman film. And the superhero will be a father (of sorts) in this one.
On Friday, Tsuburaya Productions announced that it will partner with the U.S. entertainment company to make the new film, which is not related to Netflix’s 2019 3DCG Ultraman anime series. That series, an adaptation of Eiichi Shimizu’s Ultraman manga, told a very different story.
According to Tsuburaya’s description, the new film will feature ‘baseball superstar Ken Sato.’ Sato returns home ‘to pick up the mantle of Earth-defending superhero Ultraman.’ However, it seems that ‘he’s forced to raise the offspring of his greatest foe, a newborn Kaiju.’
As you can imagine, going from baseball star to superhero and daddy isn’t easy. ‘Ken must confront his own ego, his estranged father, and the conniving Kaiju Defense Force to rise up and discover what it truly means to be Ultraman,’ the synopsis says.
Shannon Tindle will direct. He previously was a character designer for Samurai Jack, and a writer for Kubo and the Two Strings, among other things.
Thanks to the trust of @TsuburayaGlobal and Netflix, an idea inspired by Ultraman became an Ultraman film. The little boy who ran around crossing his arms and blasting his parents with the Specium Beam can’t believe this is happening!https://t.co/aLoAyo4Har
— Shannon Tindle (@ShannonTindle_1) May 13, 2021
John Aoshima, who directed episodes of DuckTales and Gravity Falls, will be co-director. Industrial Light and Magic will also add to the film. No voice actors have been mentioned yet. And the film has no release date.
With its American connections, Netflix clearly intends for this film to appeal to international audiences. It will be interesting to see how well this tokusatsu hero translates.