Gamera's getting off his back and going to New York Comic-Con.
Everyone has been awaiting a new Gamera film for the half-century Anniversary, and Kadokawa Daiei Studios Co., Ltd. (which owns the entirety of the Daiei Studios and their catalogue, including Gamera) was prepping a big announcement last May for a release in 2015 — which I covered, here — but never materialized. Most non-Japanese fans wondered why, not knowing the megalithic Kadokawa Group (the biggest publisher and film producer in Japan) was going through a series of major upheavals.
On June 22, 2013, nine subsidiary companies in the Kadokawa Group were merged (eight of them now operating as branding companies) and rechristened Kadokawa Corporation, while Kadokawa Productions was subsequently dissolved and integrated into their intellectual properties business headquarters. The restructuring continued when Kadokawa merged with Dwango, which owns Niconico (the Japanese version of YouTube), forming a new holding company, Kadokawa Dwango on May 14, 2014.
New York Comic-Con's listing for Kadokawa's Gamera presentation.
Now that the dust has settled, the plan to celebrate the colossal chelonian's 50th Anniversary is moving forward. Tomorrow, reps from Kadokawa Daiei will be hosting a half-hour presentation on the NYCC Live Stage (Booth #656) at the New York Comic-Con to announce a new "pilot film". What that intimates is a test film or a teaser for a full-blown feature film, that obviously, will not be ready in time for Gamera's official anniversary this year (the original film was released on November 27, 1965).
With the announcement taking place in less than 24 hours, there's no need to fret or speculate; I'm sure we'll see the announcements flow via the interwebs, tomorrow...
Sponsored by Shout! Factory and Famous Monsters of Filmland!
Meanwhile, don't forget I'll be hosting another "Kaiju Marathon" for Shout! Factory TV on October 17th — this time, we're presenting "Gamera's Revenge"! — streaming eleven of the terrible terrapin's feature films all day, absolutely free, starting at 8:00 am Eastern (stay tuned for more information)!
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