Sixteen years have passed since the last time a new film featuring the kaiju Gamera was released… but the long wait for new Gamera content will be coming to an end soon. Kadokawa Daiei Studio and the Netflix streaming service have announced that they’re working on a project called Gamera: Rebirth! It’s not clear exactly what this project is – film, series, anime, etc. – but judging by the copyright notice on the teaser video embedded above, it looks like we’ll be getting the answers in 2023.
A “giant, fire-breathing, prehistoric turtle monster”, Gamera was first introduced to audiences in the 1965 film Gamera, the Giant Monster, which begins with an atomic bomb waking him from a long slumber in the Arctic. Over the next six years, Gamera returned in Gamera vs. Barugon, Gamera vs. Gyaos, Gamera vs. Viras, Gamera vs. Guiron, Gamera vs. Jiger, and Gamera vs. Zigra. When the studio was struggling with financial issues in 1980, they cut together a bunch of stock footage Gamera: Super Monster. Gamera then took a fifteen year break before being brought back in a trilogy of films directed by Shusuke Kaneko. Those were Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, Gamera 2: Attack of Legion, and Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris. The most recent film was 2006’s Gamera the Brave.
Kaneko was hoping to make a new Gamera movie himself, but Gamera: Rebirth was already in the works by the time he made his pitch. He provided the following statement (with thanks to ComicBook.com for the translation): “When I came up with the idea for a Reiwa era Gamera and made a proposal, Kadokawa was already working on a new project. From my standpoint, I’m like a baseball commentator with experience as a Gamera team manager, I would like to support the team until it wins the championship.”
Are you excited to hear a new Gamera project will be coming to Netflix? Share your thoughts on Gamera: Rebirth by leaving a comment below.
I know a whole lot about Godzilla and other kaiju, but my Gamera knowledge is very lacking. So far I have only seen Gamera, the Giant Monster. I need to catch up on these movies soon.
