Just twenty-four hours after his latest cinematic foray, Godzilla vs. Kong, was released in theaters and on HBO Max, the famed ape is already set to be back on screens again. This time, he’ll be facing off against Ultraman, a Japanese superhero who made his debut in a series of the same name back in 1966. Ultraman is considered one of the first tokusatsu heroes and his popularity had led to the creation of many other Kyodai Hero projects and characters. Given the popularity of the franchise he is joining, this movie Ultraman may end up arriving before Shin Ultraman, the Japanese film from director Shinji Higuchi due out later this year which has already been postponed due to the pandemic.
This will mark the fifth entry in the MonsterVerse series from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Entertainment. After Godzilla in 2014, Kong: Skull Island in 2017, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 2019, Godzilla vs. Kong was one of the prime 2020 action releases that ended up being delayed to March 31st, 2021, when it launched simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. It’s not known at this time whether Godzilla vs. Ultraman will go just to cinemas or end up on the streaming service as well.
American audiences may be less familiar with Ultraman than they are with the iconic movie monsters whose origins date back to 1954 and 1933, respectively. Most may also be unaware that Godzilla’s origins are Japanese too, and he’s also known as a kaiju. Though no cast or crew have yet been confirmed, it’s rumored that animation legend Hayao Miyazaki is considering the directing job, which is cause for celebration for all those mourning his retirement from filmmaking. Ken Watanabe and Hiroyuki Sanada have both expressed interest in starring.
More details are expected from Warner Bros. in the near future. Or likelier, they’ll have some real news to report on April 2nd. After all, it’s still April Fool’s Day here on the West Coast…