Legendary director Hideaki Anno, who has lent his talent to Evangelion and Shin Godzilla, is tasked with writing and directing Shin Kamen Rider, a live-action film set to hit theaters in March 2023. The film is part of the broader Kamen Rider 50th Anniversary project and was unveiled at an event last Saturday. The production team behind the project, TOEI, pays tribute to Shotaro Ishinomori as the creator of one of Japan’s most iconic superheroes.
Anno had this to say about the project and the series as a whole:
Five decades ago, almost every grade school boy was enthralled by the life-size hero Kamen Rider. I was no exception. I launched this project out of the desire to give back a little for the great gifts I received from the TV shows five decades ago, in the form of a movie five decades later.
The project has had varied production so far. Anno himself noted that the early stages of planning for the project was first penned as internal memos at TOEI six years ago. The biggest setback to production was, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning that the premiere date has been pushed back two years later than originally planned.
Anno also contributed to the Kamen Rider 50th Anniversary memorial video, which he edited. TOEI then showed the edited video on the 50th anniversary of the Kamen Rider television series premiere date.
Further content coming from the Kamen Rider series includes a new anime adaptation of the manga series Fuuto Tantei. This new series will be called FUUTO PI. Fuuto Tantei is a sequel to the 2009-released Kamen Rider W (or Kamen Rider Double) manga and will launch summer 2022. Funimation is set to stream this new series as a simulcast.
Even more content for the series includes a new live-action series entitled Kamen Rider BLACK Sun, which is based on Kamen Rider BLACK. The series is being directed by Kazuya Shiraishi and will launch in spring 2022. TOEI is hoping to tap into the adult viewing market with this more mature reboot.
Hideaki Anno has been making waves again in the industry, having just co-written and directed the recent Evangelion rebuild film as well as Shin Godzilla. Anno is set to be the lead writer for the upcoming Shin Ultraman film, and we look forward to checking out his newest endeavors.
What are your thoughts on Hideaki Anno writing and directing this new film? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter!
