Jack Ultraman is considered one of the classic masterpieces in the Showa Ultraman series and a key work in the formation of the Ultraman universe. However, Tuan Shilang, who played the protagonist of "Jack Ultraman", Hideki Go, did not know that he was playing Jack Ultraman until more than a decade later. What's going on?
The 1967 broadcast of "Seven Ultraman" did not continue the ratings miracle of "Ultraman", and the overall ratings declined significantly. The ratings setback of "Ultraman Severn" was very devastated by the "god of close-up" Eiji Marutani, and he did not shoot a new Ultraman until his death in 1970.
However, Eiji Marutani did not really give up Ultraman, but was thinking of a new Ultraman series until his deathbed. According to Eiji Marutani's original vision, the new Ultraman drama is set thirty years after Ultraman, and the protagonist is the first Ultraman who has come to Earth again.
Therefore, Eiji Marutani set the name of the new Ultraman drama as "The Return of Ultraman (帰ってきたウルトラマン)". However, due to the death of Eiji Marutani and the need for commercialization, Marutani finally set the protagonist of the new Ultraman drama as a new Ultraman who is different from the original Ultraman.
However, in order to attract the audience, Round Valley still retained the name "Returning Ultraman", and the shape of the new Ultraman was as close as possible to the appearance of the original Ultraman. The original Ultraman and Seven Ultraman also made cameo appearances in The Return of Ultraman, and the Ultraman Universe was officially formed.
When Ultraman Returned aired, the protagonist Ultraman's name was "Returning Ultraman" or "New Ultraman", not "Jack Ultraman" today. With the formation of the Ultraman Universe, Round Valley followed by several consecutive Ultraman dramas, and the "Otter Brothers" were also established.
However, with the emergence of Ultraman, Tyro, Leo, Eddie, etc., the name "Returning Ultraman" is too impersonal, affecting the development and commercialization process of Ultraman's peripheral works. So Round Valley decided to give "The Returned Ultraman" a real name.
In 1989, Round Valley officially announced the name of "Returning Ultraman" as "Jack", and It was only after this that Tuan Shilang learned that he was playing "Jack Ultraman". It wasn't until he made a cameo appearance in 2006's "Monbius Ultraman" that Tuan Shilang was called "Jack" for the first time in a feature film.