| Ultraman: Rising | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Shannon Tindle John Aoshima |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | Ultraman by Tsuburaya Productions |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | Christopher Sean Gedde Watanabe Tamlyn Tomita Keone Young |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release date | 2024 |
| Countries | United States Japan |
| Language | English |
Ultraman: Rising is an upcoming animated superhero film based on Tsuburaya Productions' Ultraman franchise. A Japanese-American co-production between Tsuburaya Productions and Netflix Animation, with Industrial Light & Magic animating, it is the 44th film in the franchise. Directed by Shannon Tindle (in his directorial debut) and John Aoshima from a script by Tindle and Marc Haimes, the film stars Christopher Sean as Ken Sato / Ultraman, alongside the voices of Gedde Watanabe, Tamlyn Tomita, Keone Young, and Julia Harriman. It is slated to be released worldwide on Netflix in 2024.
Ken Sato, a famous but egotistical baseball player living a secret life as the giant superhero Ultraman, is forced to balance his career and hero duties after reluctantly adopting a baby kaiju after defeating its mother.[1]
The film, inspired by the character of the same name, originally began as an original idea developed by director Shannon Tindle.[4] He conceived it while working as a character designer on Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends in the mid-to-late 2000s.[5] Tindle further developed the film, writing a script and creating art, at Sony Pictures Animation from 2016 to 2018; at the time, the plot would have followed "a billionaire forced to grow up when he takes on the orphaned children of his former foe."[6][7] After leaving Sony, Tindle moved to Netflix Animation to produce the live-action/animation hybrid series Lost Ollie with fellow Sony Animation director Peter Ramsey, where he had the opportunity to repurpose the plot for his film to fit with the "Ultraman" IP.
The project was announced as a Netflix exclusive in May 2021, with Tindle to direct and co-write the film with Marc Haimes (Tindle and Haimes previously co-wrote Kubo and the Two Strings), Tom Knott to produce, Lisa Poole to co-produce, John Aoshima to co-direct, and Industrial Light & Magic to animate the film.[8] In July 2022, Netflix released an image teasing the film's animation style and Ultraman design.[9]
In October 2023, Tindle shared via Twitter a first-look image of Ultraman and the film's official title as Ultraman: Rising, teasing an announcement for Geeked Week 2023.[10] In November 2023, the film's voice-cast and first trailer were unveiled during Geeked Week 2023, targeting a 2024 release on Netflix.[1][2]
