©Courtesy of Netflix
Netflix will be welcoming the next generation of a popular Japanese superhero with the arrival of “Ultraman: Rising.”
Now, Netflix has released the first full trailer for “Ultraman Rising,” which was directed by John Aoshima and Shannon Tindle from Lost Ollie. The trailer provides an insight into the unconventional journey of the new hero.
Ken Sato, the latest inheritor of the Ultraman mantle, is portrayed by Christopher Sean in the film, as he tries to balance his life as a professional baseball player and being a superhero who changes size. After a monster battle ends with Ken discovering a Kaiju egg hatching, he is now tasked with keeping a giant baby safe. “Ultraman Rising” follows Ken Sato as he steps into his father’s shoes, struggling with powers and unexpected parenthood of a baby kaiju.
Staring Christopher Sean, Tamlyn Tomita, Gedde Watanabe, Keone Young, and Julia Harriman. This movie trailer is fantastic and sets the tone for the film. It is family-friendly with cute Kaijuu, but it still seems like everyone can enjoy it.
This project has been in development for years at ILM, with the VFX house handling most of the key animation, along side Netflix Animation & Tsuburaya Productions. Based on the classic Japanese mecha superhero of the same name, but this feels like “Ultraman” movie is a fresh new look for American audiences (There’s also another “Ultraman” anime series on Netflix as well).
Ultraman may be unfamiliar to some people in U.S, but many in Japan, the alien superhero – first introduced in 1966’s Ultra Q – is an icon. That decades-long history has spawned countless TV shows, movies, and video games. It even inspired director Shannon Tindle to come up with his own original idea, one that would become the basis for a new Netflix movie almost a quarter of a century later. “I never thought there would be any way I could get the rights to the characters and at that time, I couldn’t have,” Tindle tells SFX magazine in the new issue, which features Doctor Who on the cover, of Tsuburaya Productions’ ongoing rights battles.
Netflix’s recent venture into the Ultraman series is the result of a talented team that includes Emmy-winning and Kubo and the Two Strings co-writer Shannon Tindle, as well as her co-director John Aoshima and co-writer Marc Haimes. The feature was produced and animated by Tsuburaya Productions and Industrial Light & Magic, which is currently working on “Transformers One” with a star-studded cast, Gedde Watanabe, Tamlyn Tomita, and Julia Harriman are the final members of the team.
“Ultraman: Rising” streams on Netflix June 14, announcing the arrival of action, heart, and a new chapter in the heroic saga.
