Netflix announces the beginning of production on an all new CGI Ultraman movie. Netflix is developing the film  in partnership with Tsuburaya Productions.

The new fillm wil be directed by Shannon Tindle, whose previous experience as a director is limited to the short On Ice. However, she’s worked as a character designer and a visual development artist in Kubo and the Two Strings, Megamind, Coraline, and The Emoji Movie. She’ll be ably assisted by John Aoshima, her co-director, who has directed multiple episodes of Gravity Falls, DuckTales, and American Dad!; he previously worked with Tindle on Kubo and the Two Strings.

The script was written by Shannon Tindle and Marc Haimes, who were both part of the writing committee for Kubo and the Two Strings. Tindle said “Making this film is a dream come true. What began as an original story inspired by my love for Eiji Tsuburaya’s Ultraman somehow became an actual Ultraman film thanks to the incredible trust of the team at Tsuburaya Productions, and the support of the folks at Netflix Animation. We’ve assembled an all-star team and I can’t wait to share our unique take on Ultraman with the rest of the world.”

In the 60’s and 70’s, the Ultraman television series was popular around the world. It has all but left the public consciousness of Western audiences in 21st century North America, but the show is still widely popular in Asia.

in the original 1966 TV show, the Science Patrol fought invading aliens and/or kaiju (monsters). When the Science Patrol was outmatched, one of their team members, Shin Hayata, transformed into Ultraman. For the visual effects, the series relied on men in rubber suits, fighting amid fungible miniature cityscapes.

Of the new film, Netflix describes it this way:

“Baseball superstar Ken Sato returns  to his home country of Japan to pick up the mantle of Earth-defending superhero Ultraman, but quickly finds more than he bargained for when he’s forced to raise the offspring of his greatest foe, a newborn Kaiju [monster]. Struggling to balance the roles of teammate and new father, 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.”

This project continues Netflix’s relationship with Tsuburaya Productions following the release of the Ultraman anime series which is currently in its second season.  There is as yet no official release date, but we can assume from the timing of the information we do have that it will arrive sometime late in 2022 or early 2023.

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