Ultraman is one of the most popular Japanese superheroes, if maybe not the most popular. Created by Eiji Tsuburaya in the 1960s, the franchise consists of television series, films, comic books, novels, video games, and other merchandise. For the big screen, the first time the hero appeared was in Ultraman: Monster Movie Feature (1967), and since has been the protagonist of over 40 films. One of the last ones is Shin Ultraman (2022), where as the threat of giant unidentified lifeforms known as “S-Class Species” worsens in Japan a silver giant appears from beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
The continued appearance of giant unidentified lifeforms known as “S-Class Species” has become commonplace in Japan. Conventional weapons have no effect on them. Having exhausted all other options, the Japanese Government issued the S-Class Species Suppression Protocol and formed an enforcement unit, known as the SSSP. The members chosen for the unit are Leader Fumio Tamura, Executive Strategist Shinji Kaminaga, Unparticle Physicist Taki Akihisa, and Universal Biologist Yume Funaberi. But, soon, our superhero arrives from beyond our borders. Analyst Hiroko Asami is newly appointed to the SSSP to deal with this giant and is partnered with Shinji Kaminaga. In Hiroko’s report, she writes… “Ultraman, identity unknown”.
Shin Ultraman (2022) has been conceived by the director Shinji Higuchi and the writer Hideaki Anno, the duo that already brought back to hype other classic Japanese franchises Shin Godzilla (2016) and Shin Kamen Rider (2023).
Takumi Saitoh, Masami Nagasawa, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Daiki Arioka, Akari Hayami, Tetsushi Tanaka, Ryô Iwamatsu, Kyûsaku Shimada, Keishi Nagatsuka, Tôru Masuoka, and Hajime Yamazaki form the main cast.
Shin Ultraman (2022) has had an extended and successful international festivals run being in the line-ups of Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival, Fantasia International Film Festival, New York Asian Film Festival, Odex Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, Japannual Japanese Film Festival Vienna, Milano IULM sognielettrici, Imagine Fantastic Film Festival, Utopiales – Nantes International Science-Fiction Festival, Hawai’i International Film Festival, Paris International Fantastic Film Festival, and Lyon Festival Hallucinations Collectives where it was well received by the audience and collected some awards and nominations.
Now, Cleopatra Entertainment has the North American distribution rights for the film and has scheduled it for a digital release on July 4, 2023, followed by a DVD and Blu-Ray release on July 11, 2023.
Watch the official trailer for Shin Ultraman (2022).
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