News
Shin Godzilla Co-Director Shinji Higuchi Directs The Bullet Train Remake for Netflix
posted on by Anita Tai
Netflix Japan announced on Tuesday that Shin Godzilla film co-director Shinji Higuchi's next project is a remake of the 1975 Japanese action thriller Shinkansen Daibakuha. (The 1975 film's overseas titles included The Bullet Train and Super Express 109, while the remake uses the English translation Bullet Train Explosion.) Higuchi serves as director on the 2025 release.
Former SMAP member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (Mutafukaz, Hime-chan's Ribbon) is starring in the film.
The original film involves a group who straps bombs to a Japanese bullet train in an attempt to extort money from the government.
Higuchi was an early member of anime studio Gainax, and worked on storyboards and scripts on some of its most notable projects, including Gunbuster, Otaku no Video, and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Aside from co-directing Shin Godzilla with fellow Gainax founding member Hideaki Anno, he also directed the live-action films of Hajime Isayama's Attack on Titan manga, and once again collaborated with Anno in Shin Ultraman, where he directed while Anno wrote the script. He was the chief director on the Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan original anime series, written by Mari Okada (Maquia, maboroshi, Fureru.).
The film won an award at the 56th Japan Science Fiction Convention's (Nihon SF Taikai) 48th Seiun Awards in July 2017 and the Grand Prize in the Entertainment Division of the 20th Japan Media Arts Festival Awards in March 2017. The film also won seven awards at the 40th annual Japan Academy Prizes that March, including Picture of the Year and Director of the Year. The film won a Fujimoto Award in April 2017.
