A trailer for "THE ORIGIN OF ULTRAMAN," a documentary film commemorating the 60th anniversary of the tokusatsu drama series "Ultraman," was released on YouTube on May 14th. The trailer begins with Hirokazu Kore-eda and Guillermo del Toro, who are in charge of the film's planning, reminiscing about Ultraman as if recalling their childhood memories. Directors and creators from Japan and abroad, including Hideo Kojima, Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi, and Nicolas Winding Refn, also share their memories and perspectives on Ultraman.
The trailer reveals, through testimonies and archival footage, the ideas behind the designs of Ultraman and the monsters, the production philosophy of art director Toru Narita—that "children must be shown the real thing"—and the reasons why it continues to attract directors and creators around the world. The video delves into the origins of Ultraman, showing how it was born and why it has been passed down through generations and across borders.
It was also announced that advance online movie tickets will go on sale at 2 PM on May 15th. As a purchase bonus, you will receive an "Ultraman Original Smartphone Wallpaper" (3 types in total). If you purchase an advance online movie ticket and watch the movie, you will receive a "Movieticket Digital Card" with a different design from the purchase bonus and a record of your viewing.
"THE ORIGIN OF ULTRAMAN" is a project conceived by Hirokazu Kore-eda, the film director known for works such as "Shoplifters." A stellar lineup of creators, including Guillermo del Toro, Kore-eda, Kojima, Anno, Higuchi, and Nicolas Winding Refn, will share their unique perspectives as "witnesses" to explore the question, "What is Ultraman?" In addition to testimonies from Susumu Kurobe, who played Hayata, Hiroko Sakurai, who played Fuji, and Sandayu Dokumamushi, who played Arashi, the film also includes testimonies from the production staff at the time, unraveling the origins of Ultraman from multiple angles. It will be released on July 3rd.
◇Staff and cast (titles omitted)
Supervision: Takayuki Tsukakoshi▽Planning: Hirokazu Kore-eda▽Production: Kei Minamiya, Takuya Tashiro▽Planning Cooperation/Research: Setsu Shimizu▽Directors: Yutaka Nakamura, Kazuki Yoshida▽Producers: Masahiro Onda, Tomoko Izuta (Slowhand)▽Cast: Guillermo del Toro, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Hideo Kojima, Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi, Nicolas Winding Refn, Shannon Tindle, John Aoshima, Kairi Narita, Pat Cadigan, Setsu Shimizu, Noi Sawaragi, Hidenori Okada, Susumu Kurobe, Hiroko Sakurai, Sandayu Dokumamushi, Toshihiro Iijima, Kazuo Sagawa, Kiyoshi Suzuki, Sadao Iizuka, Tokuko Shishikura▽Production: Slowhand▽Production/Copyright: Tsuburaya Productions ▽Distribution: TOHO NEXT, Tsuburaya Productions
