Ultraman, the iconic super hero and the first tokusatsu hero launched by the Ultra Series and Tsuburaya Productions, is getting an animated film at Netflix with an all-new story. The Ultraman franchise has had a big last couple of years, with Netflix launching a successful anime series in 2019, as well as Marvel currently publishing a second comic book based on the franchise. According to Screen Rant, Tsuburaya Productions will soon be releasing the Shin Ultraman, which is being produced by Neon Genesis Evangelion’s Hideaki Anno. 

Ultraman first aired on television In 1966. He quickly became huge among japanese culture, telling the story of a giant hero from outer space bonding with a human to fight evil monsters and aliens. After the original show, there was Ultraseven, which was a more serious installment where Ultraman could take the form of a human. Over the years, Ultraman has accumulated over 25 series. The latest show, Ultraman Trigger, was announced in April 2021.

Tsuburaya has announced a CG-animated Ultraman movie is in development at Netflix. The Netflix film and show are not related, but it will tell an original story. Shannon Tindle (Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings) is directing with John Aoshima (Gravity Falls) is co-directing. Alongside Tindle, Marc Haimes wrote the script. The synopsis reads, “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. 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”.

There is no official release date as of late, as Shin Ultraman was originally supposed to be released in June 2021. Due to COVID, like many other projects, it has been delayed.