The “Shin” universe is an interesting one, sprung from the mind of Hideaki Anno, the creator of Neon Genesis Evangelion. With the cinematic universe first arriving with Shin Godzilla, it seems that the anime legend has some big moves in mind for some other popular characters that have sprung from Japan’s pop culture in the past, as a new trailer for Shin Kamen Rider has dropped. With Shin Ultraman now in theater in Japan, it’s clear that Anno has some big changes in mind for the motorcycle riding hero, while still maintaining the spirit of the Sentai fighter.
Set to arrive in theaters in March 2023, Anno will be writing, directing, and producing this film which will see a new take on the monster fighter. Kamen Rider first debuted in Japan as a television series in 1971 and has since garnered countless television shows, movies, anime, manga, video games, and more, proving how beloved the character has become. While a number of the series never made their way to North America officially, the series did hit the West on Fox Kids in 1995 as “Masked Rider”, following the success of the Sentai series, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, which would take footage from the Japanese release and splice in original material for this new adaptation.
Shin Kamen Rider shared this new trailer which gives us a better idea of the adventures of the motorcycle-riding vigilante who is sure to receive some big changes from Hideaki Anno, if the Evangelion creator’s take on Godzilla is any indication:
While no new entries have been confirmed for the Shin universe following this upcoming film, many fans are wondering if this cinematic universe might lead to an eventual live-action crossover between Godzilla, Ultraman, Kamen Rider, and even the pilots of Evangelion. Billed as the “Shin Japan Heroes Universe”, an official poster was released that showed all four franchises standing back to back. A crossover of all these properties would certainly be unlike anything we’ve seen before and would definitely be a major project for Hideaki Anno were it to become a reality.
A North American release date has yet to be revealed for either Shin Kamen Rider or Shin Ultraman, but considering Shin Godzilla hit the States, we would imagine that it is only a matter of time before we see these movies hit stateside.
Are you hyped for this new take on Kamen Rider? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and Shin.
