ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke to Ultraman: Rising director Shannon Tindle and co-director John Aoshima about the upcoming Netflix movie. The coming-of-age superhero movie is now streaming.
“When baseball superstar Ken Sato returns home to Japan to pick up the mantle of Earth-defending superhero Ultraman, he quickly finds more than he bargained for as he’s forced to raise the offspring of his greatest foe,” reads the movie’s official synopsis.
Tyler Treese: Shannon, previously we talked a lot about the themes of the film, so I wanted to ask you about the casting of Christopher Sean. What really stood out about him and made him the perfect choice for Ken and Ultraman? Because he brings such a great quality to both sides of that role.
Shannon Tindle: Well, the important thing is we knew that Ken was gonna have an edge to him. I wanted, when you first meet him, to show some of that baggage that he kind of pushes people away. That he’s got a bit of an ego, which is kind of an armor that he built around him, to be able to deal with things that he dealt with growing up, whether it was a separation from his dad or how he was treated when he moved to the United States.
Christopher can carry that swagger, and he’s fun, and he’s funny, and he’s really charming too. He would be able to dial in that right balance between still having an edge but you wanted to like him. That’s the thing. I didn’t need you to like him from the beginning, but maybe you might want to like him or hope that he gets better. Then seeing what that journey is, Christopher was a key part of bringing that nuance and that complexity to Ken.
John, one of my favorite parts about this film is the father-son dynamic. Ultradad is just such a fun character, and Gedde Watanabe has so many lovely moments throughout, especially those interactions with the baby kaiju. What did you like most about getting to see the older Ultraman’s kind of second shot at being a father and raising this kaiju and doing right by it? It really tugs at the heart.
John Aoshima: Yeah, definitely. What Gedde brought to Professor Sato [was] that warmth. I grew up without a father, but I had so many great father figures while I grew up. Digging into those experiences, and also even wishing [about] having that perfect dad. So those magical moments are applied to those shots and the characters.
There are times where you have those tough experiences, and I ended up finding my dad and connecting with him. So that was part of the stories that I shared with Shannon that I think he captures so well infusing it into our existing film. It’s really about bringing all those life experiences that really bring that magic to this film.
Shannon, this also feels very complete. This is a great stand-alone movie, but at the end, there’s also a great tease for a sequel. Have you thought of anything of where the story could go further or just a little tease?
Tindle: Yeah, I have. First and foremost, I love that you said it’s a self-contained story because that’s what we want it to be. To live on its own. But I definitely have thought a lot about what we might do in other films.
Aoshima: We’re big fans, so yeah, we’ll see.
Thanks to Shannon Tindle and John Aoshima for speaking about Ultraman: Rising.
