Ultraman has been a prominent media franchise in Japan since the television series Ultra Q first premiered in 1966. Even from a distance, the character made an impact on a young Shannon Tindle growing up in rural Kentucky, who would go on to become the writer-director of Netflix’s animated Ultraman: Rising. Along with co-director John Aoshima, the pair brought out a new side of the kaiju fighting giant with a focus on caretaking rather than destruction.

The film follows Ken Sato (Christopher Sean), a baseball star who returns to Japan to take the mantle of Ultraman when his father retires. Though his brash and self-centered attitude doesn’t get him many fans, his outlook soon changes when he becomes the caretaker of Emi, a newborn kaiju.

Deadline had the opportunity to sit down with Tindle and Aoshima, as well as VFX supervisor Hayden Jones and composer Scot Stafford at Industrial...