Summary
Ultraman: Rising is a reboot of the iconic franchise, focusing on a baseball player who takes over the superhero mantle from his father. The film marks a collaboration between Tsuburaya Productions, owner of the classic Netflix series, and Industrial Light Magic. Stars Christopher Sean, Tamlyn Tomita and Gedde Watanabe praised the directors for creating an atmosphere of trust during the production and taking the time to research the plot.
One of Japan's most iconic sci-fi franchises is about to return in a big way with Ultraman: Rising. First created by Eiji Tsuburaya, Tetsuo Kinjo, Tohl Narita, and Kazuho Mitsuta, the series primarily revolves around an alien race known as the Ultras, who venture to various planets in the galaxy to survive. Maintain peace and prevent attacks from alien invaders and various kaijus. . Up to this point, there have been over 40 different Ultraman films, dating back to 1967's Ultraman: Monster Movie Feature, while owner Tsuburaya Productions has produced a few live-action films in recent years.
With Ultraman: Rising, the film serves as both a reboot and revival of the series, focusing on Ken Sato, a star baseball player who must give up his life as Los Angeles Dodger to play for a Japanese team for competition. titular superhero mantle after his father's injury forced him to retire. After reluctantly embarking on various missions, Ken finds himself facing a new challenge when he discovers his first kaiju baby, taking responsibility for raising her and protecting her from a group of scientists. The evil school is trying to usurp her.
Hawaii Five-O and You actor Christopher Sean leads the English-speaking cast in Ultraman: Rising as Ken alongside Sixteen Candles' Gedde Watanabe as Professor Sato, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters' Tamlyn Tomita, Dr. Star Wars animated films Keone Young and Julia Harriman. The film also marks a unique collaboration between Tsuburaya Productions, Netflix and Industrial Light Magic, bringing the series to a wider international audience.
In honor of the film's upcoming Netflix premiere, Screen Rant interviewed stars Christopher Sean, Gedde Watanabe, and Tamlyn Tomita to discuss Ultraman: Rising, the research they did while working on the series, excited to bring it to a global audience of newcomers and how they put their trust in the vision of directors Shannon Tindle and John Aoshima.
Ultraman: Rising is a reimagining of an iconic character (Sean was “very nervous” to tackle)
Taking on the lead role for any iconic franchise is a scary choice for an actor, and Christopher Sean admitted that he was “very nervous” to take on the responsibility for Ultraman: Rising. Ultimately, however, he praised the “incredibly loving” support of Tamlyn Tomita and Gedde Watanabe along with directors Shannon Tindle and John Aoshima for helping him through the process, Tomita also went on to praise Praising Sean's efforts to research the franchise in depth as preparation:
Christopher Sean: I think we're lucky to be able to recreate such an iconic character for a new generation. I was very nervous going into the role, I've said this before, I'll say it again and again, I really relied on my parents [Tamlyn & Gedde], because they are incredible. They are wonderful, they are so loving. The group also includes Shannon, John, Lisa, Tom Makiko, the list goes on. But everyone there, they were all so encouraging, and they made it really easy for me to jump in and play and have a great time finding this character, and I hope we do the best we can. possible to bring fairness to this franchise.
Tamlyn Tomita: Christopher said looking up to his parents and the team, all the amazing creators, gods and goddesses of this Ultraman: Rising series. But I also want to say that he did an incredible amount of work, knowing that when he was offered this role – and he wouldn't say that, because that's the humble part of him. Again, it's the concept of what it means to be an amazing individual within an incredible team, and he would never say that. He did a lot of research on what Ultraman is, its origins, how many iterations there are, its influence on Japanese culture, and what it means to bring it to the world through Netflix.
This is the achievement of Christopher Sean, this artist, this actor, the voice of Ultraman: Rising, and audiences will see that he is part of this incredible team. But I just want to say that it's the duality of being Ultraman, Kenji Sato's amazing child, with Kenji Sato, the baseball superstar, and Ultraman, the world's superhero. So, those are the types of thoughts that one has to contemplate within oneself as a normal human being. Myself, as an individual, versus part of a family.
Finding character motivation relies on “complete trust” in the film director
With each character balancing a sense of silliness alongside serious character development, finding these layers proved to be a particular challenge for the Ultraman: Rising cast, especially when they were only given script pages at a time and out of order, leaving them uncertain. about what they actually did most of the time. However, despite this confusion, the team ultimately realized that the biggest key to solving this problem was to have “complete trust” in the film's directors, going on to praise Tindle and Aoshima for their efforts in creating a cohesive and emotional story from this work. :
Gedde Watanabe: That's full credit to Shannon, because like I said, I don't know the whole story. When you record, you get bits and pieces of information that keep coming in, and suddenly, it's like, “Oh, is that this? OH? Alright.” So it wasn't until one night that we were actually invited to see it, and I was absolutely stunned because it was a revelation. I mean, literally, I was like, “Oh, what is this?” It's a surprising angle at every turn. That is, for me. So I tried to gather as much information as possible, but I think Christopher, now, educates us even more with his knowledge, so I was surprised because that. I still, I still can't believe we're doing this. Yes, that's great. I advise you should [trying animation voiceover work] for anyone. [Chuckles]
Tamlyn Tomita: Yeah, and that really requires a lot of trust, because if you don't have a good team, it's not going to work. We really have to give credit to Shannon, Mark, and John for actually pulling this off, because what Gedde was saying, and as you well know, the voice actors didn't understand the whole script. And even if you get the entire script, it will be deleted. We recorded this over two years, so it's like, you'll have one or two scenes, and they're unrelated, and it's like, “Why am I doing here? ” “Oh, you're just with your son and it's like an echo of 10 years later.” And you're like, “Oh, what happened?” So it was a mistake and as Gedde said, it really required trust and investment in the vision that Shannon Tindle had.
Christopher Sean: And kudos to Industrial Light and Magic, because they're a top company, Oscar-winning, best animators in the world.
Introducing Ultraman: Rising
As Tokyo is besieged by increasing monster attacks, baseball star Ken Sato reluctantly returns home to take on the mantle of Ultraman. But this mighty superhero meets his match when he is forced to adopt a 35-foot-tall, fire-breathing kaiju baby. Sato must rise above her ego to balance work and parenthood, while protecting the baby from forces that want to use her for their own dark plans. A collaboration with Netflix, Tsuburaya Productions and Industrial Light & Magic, Ultraman: Rising is written by Shannon Tindle and Marc Haimes, directed by Shannon Tindle and co-directed by John Aoshima.
Stay tuned for our other Ultraman: Rising interview with directors Shannon Tindle & John Aoshima!
Ultraman: Rising begins streaming on Netflix on June 14.
Source: Screen Rant Plus