SHIN GODZILLA Directors Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi Developing SHIN ULTRAMAN

If, like me, you enjoyed how the end of every episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers basically turned into a massive monster Godzilla movie, then you have the highly influential Ultraman to thank, and it's especially fitting that a Shin Ultraman movie is in development with the directors of 2016's Shin Godzilla.

Variety reports that Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi, the directors behind Toho's Shin Godzilla movie, are developing Shin Ultraman, a live-action film based on Tsuburaya Productions' classic tokusatsu hero franchise that pitted Ultraman against creatures from space.

An alien visitor from beyond the stars, Ultraman has the ability to look like a human and can also morph to a towering height to defend Earth from colossal threats. The first episode of many Ultraman iterations premiered in 1967 (not long after the final episode of Ultra Q aired), and there are now more than 1100 episodes and 20 movies featuring the iconic character (with Mill Creek Entertainment releasing them on physical and digital media in the US).

Anno is also writing the screenplay, with Tsuburaya Productions, Toho, and Anno's studio Khara producing. Masami Nagasawa, Hidetoshi Nishijima and Takumi Saito will star in Shin Ultraman, which is expected to come out in 2021.

Here's what Anno had to say about the high expectations of the project (via Variety):

"A baton has been entrusted to me that has been shining ever since I was small child. I will solemnly strive to fulfill my responsibility to pass on that heavy, radiant baton created by my seniors."

After their unique take on Toho's classic radioactive monster in 2016's Shin Godzilla, it will be interesting to see how Anno and Higuchi will approach Shin Ultraman, and we'll be sure to keep Daily Dead readers updated as more details are revealed.