Character Design for SHIN ULTRAMAN Revealed!

After SHIN GODZILLA (in collaboration with Shinji Higuchi), Hideaki Anno (the creator of NEON GENESIS EVANGELION), next tackles "ULTRAMAN", with his delve into the popular evergreen tokusatsu's character design revealed in a statue, unveiled in Sukagawa (the birthplace of Eiji Tsuburaya, the "God of Tokusatsu)"!

The costume design is similar to the classic version, but with one obvious exception: There is no "color timer" seen on his chest...! Does this mean he does not have a "three minute" handicap anymore? No more blinking chest-light for us to worry about? I wonder how fans think about that tho...?

Also very interestingly (based on the Wiki-entry): "Writer Tetsuo Kinjo originally envisioned an intergalactic reptilian creature named Bemler to be the character that would become Ultraman." = Which would somehow explain the form we see in the statue, which bears a obviously thinner bipedal humanoid appearance but not necessarily "100% human"?

Also noticeable is the similarity to the lankiness seen in EVA Units, with elongated limbs. All we need now is a "ULTRAMAN vs EVANGELION"-scene to whet our collective geekdoms' appetites ("FANART", folks?)!

The above image (with a more "metallic" body surface) was first revealed at TSUBURAYA CONVENTION 2019 held in December, with "Shin Ultraman" scheduled to premiere in early summer of 2021. 2021 is the 55th anniversary of its first appearance of "Ultraman", so expect ultra-fanfare!

Stay tuned for further updates via @tsuburayaprod on Twitter, and the film's official website at shin-ultraman.jp

2021年初夏公開決定🎉

『シン・ウルトラマン』立像が初お披露目✨

“特撮の神様”円谷英二の出身地・須賀川にてシン・ウルトラマンの“スペシウム光線ポーズ”が明らかに！https://t.co/Pwt0z86GWH#シン・ウルトラマン #特撮アーカイブセンター pic.twitter.com/Fp1bUEzmMI

— 円谷プロダクション (@tsuburayaprod) November 3, 2020

Source: m-78.jp

UPDATED: Additional images via @khara_inc (Thanks to headsup via @srcampesino).