Interesting tidbit that I don't know if anyone else is talking about:
At the announcement for all these 50th Anniversary Kamen Rider projects the producers were asked by a reporter from Variety when should audiences outside Japan anticipate seeing these various projects and when it came to the movie the producers said :
Regarding SHIN KAMEN RIDER, it may be quite rare for Japanese movies, but we're aiming for a day-and-date global release. But it's not confirmed yet. The producer says this at the 25:45 mark in the conference video on Yotube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1CNEK_F2oQObviously plans could change between now and then but it would be amazing if it was possible for all of us, no matter where we live in the world, could see Hideaki Anno's next live action film at the same time!
Also: Having just watched the entire youtube video (it's a lazy Sunday) at the 22:30 mark the producer involved in
Shin Kamen Rider, Mr. Shinichiro Shirakura, says the early talk of this project began while Anno was making
Evangelion 3.0 and he developed a relationship to one of the producers at Toei, a Mr. Kii, and at some point Anno suggested the idea of the film to Mr. Kii and provided him with "some notes" as well. If the "
Six years of preparation" are to be taken honestly then the film was given a green light back in 2015 while Anno was in production on
Shin Godzilla. The producer also said had Covid-19 not stopped everything the original plan was for
Shin Kamen Rider to be released this year as the 50th Anniversary Project to celebrate the franchise which began in 1971 but is now 100% going to happen in 2023. I'm not quite sure
how that would've worked out since even if
Thrice Upon A Time had gotten to be released Summer 2020 production on that movie went right up to the very end. I guess a 2021 release could've happened if Anno immediately jumped onto Kamen Rider in April or May last year the second Eva would've originally finished and then he could hit a Fall or Xmas 2021 release? Perhaps when Anno drew that 2018 Lantern with the
2020.21.22 announcement he was thinking they could pull off
Eva 2020,
Shin Kamen Rider 2021 and
Shin Ultraman 2022 only then at some point the two live action movies swapped places. I think it's very possible the man was writing three greenlit movie scripts at once. Very curious to hear more about the production of these films over the next few years.
Sure sounds to me like Hideaki Anno has never really taken time off. He's just been multi-tasking like a madman.