Acclaimed independent kaiju filmmaker Yoshikazu Ishii’s newest film will make its long-awaited World Premiere at the 2026 G-FEST Film Festival, screening over the weekend four times, with a special Q&A with director Ishii-san taking place on Sunday, July 12th. After an initial announcement featuring the kaiju and the confirmation that esteemed tokusatsu art director Toshio Miike would serve as the film’s Special Effects Art Director, Kaiju United can also confirm the addition of several iconic tokusatsu veteran stars to Gladio: Monster Battles in The Alternate Dimension‘s all-star cast.
The new cast additions include:
キャスト名 MAIN CAST:
- 井澤 巧麻 TAKUMA ISAWA
- るーるる RU- RURU (RUKA OKONOGI)
- 清水 伶美 REIMI SHIMIZU
- 藤崎 卓也 TAKUYA FUJISAKI
特別出演 Special Guest Appearances:
- 野村 宏伸 HIRONOBU NOMURA
- 西條 康彦YASUHIKO SAIJYO
- 桜井 浩子 HIROKO SAKURAI
- 古谷 敏 BIN FURUYA
- 宇治 清高 KIYOTAKA UJI
- 江村奈美 NAMI EMURA
In Gladio: Monster Battles in The Alternate Dimension, “One Sunday, Suzuki Reiichi and Morita Natsuko are on a typical date when they get involved in an accident and lose consciousness. When they wake up, they find themselves in a virtual world that appears to be an exact replica of the real world… Suddenly! A monster appears and goes on a rampage… putting the two in danger. Will they be able to defeat the monster and return to their real world, or will they never return?”
The project started as a crowdfunding campaign on Campfire, launching on December 7th, 2024, and ending on January 31, 2025. It gathered a total of 1,707,000 yen (the equivalent of $10,685) thanks to the contributions of its 107 supporters. At G-FEST, the film will screen a total of four times: tonight (Friday July 10th) at 9:30PM CST, Saturday (July 11th) at 9:00AM and 10:30PM, and finally on Sunday, July 12th at 2:05PM. The final screening on Sunday will be followed by a special Q&A session with the film’s director, Yoshikazu Ishii, so fans won’t want to miss that one. Ishii-san is also listed as a Special Celebrity Guest for this year’s iteration of G-FEST, so attendees of the convention will be able to meet him in the autograph room all weekend for signatures and photos.
Gladio: Monster Battles in The Alternate Dimension is directed by Yoshikazu Ishii, known for helming films such as Attack of Giant Teacher and Yuzo: The Biggest Battle in Tokyo, as well as the 2013 series Ultraman Ginga. Yoshikazu Ishii started his career as an Assistant Director on films such as Godzilla: Final Wars before moving into directing his own independent films. The only other confirmed crew member at this time is tokusatsu fx legend Toshio Miike, known for his work across various iconic franchises ranging from Godzilla, Ultraman, Kamen Rider, and more. The film is expected to release sometime this year after premiering this weekend, so stay tuned for further updates on Kaiju United.
