Actually, It's The Heiseis That Get Screwed Over ...
You've no idea what the word Iconic means, do ya?
Also, I'll just leave this for food for thought.
They already do what you say to do.
You may not believe this, but let's look at the past few movies to set the record straight.
Ultraman Zero the movie: Any Ultra outside Zero, or Seven and Father, got a no lines cameo and could have been replaced by anyone else. Seven was the only old Ultra to actually fight at any point in the movie.
Ultra Galaxy The Movie: Most of the Ultras across the board got a few cameos here and there, largely and only centered on the first 10 or so minutes of hte movie, before being made useless, barring the original Ultraman and UltraSeven, as well as the then newest Mebius. Also Dyna appeared from a worm hole....because. Instead, the Ultra with the most focus? Zero.
Super 8 Ultra Brothers: Relied more on the factor that the 90s Trio were brought in, as the original Ultra bros were just handy cameos to help win the final fight.
Ultraman Mebius the Movie: This is the ONLY film thus far to actually co star all four of the original Ultra Bros, with Taroh and Zoffy showing up as guest stars near the end, during a season that CELEBRATED their series. Even then, the lead was Mebius, the newest Ultra.
Anything before that?
Well. Um.
Hmm.
Ultraman appeared in an episode of Tiga once! For a short while! Without his human form!
The others?
**** all.
....except UltraSeven, who has yet to stop showing up in **** since his series freaking ended.
But that's less to do with them catering to the older fans, and more to do with the fact that they know UltraSeven would murder them if they didn't appease him every other year or so.
This is HIGHLY unlike DC, if we consider the Brothers to be equivalents to their constantly reoccuring heroes, as once their show is over, that's almost ALWAYS it for them. The best they can hope for is to be UltraSeven, or get to show up in a team up later on with the others, most likely waaaaaay in the back.
Dyna thus far is the most unique of the newer Ultras as he got to come back during Galaxy, but that's hampered by Noa apparently being God of Light or something, and the fact that more of 'em are gonna come back for the new movie.
Much like with Kamen Rider, Ultraman doesn't dwell too much on its past heroes unless they're gonna be cameo fodder, or apart of a massive team up.
..........Or UltraSeven.
Looking at the box office take of the movies in question, it becomes clearly obvious that the general audience is most interested in the classic Heisei Ultras of the '90's - and their human hosts.
Ultraman Mebius and The Ultra Brothers focused on the newest Ultra, Mebius, in his human form, featuring both the human and Ultran forms of the first four Ultras, with the Ultra forms of Zoffy and Taro arriving for a late cameo. Made about $4.17 million dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
Two years later, Super 8 UltraBrothers focused on "AU" versions of the first three Heiseis, primarily on Daigo, Tiga's host; but also on Shin and Gamu, Dyna and Gaia, respectively. With the four Classic Showas as friendly neighbors and mentors to the Heisei Three, and Mebius being dragged over for cannon fodder. That movie, which focused on the human hosts, and had the least amount of fighting; made the most money, over $8 million dollars.
The next year, Ultra Galaxy Legend, which focused on the first two Ultramen, as well as Mebius, and introduced Zero, with far too brief cameos by Asuka and Musashi, came in second, making $6.1 million dollars. From the Mega Monster Battle movie thread, I noticed that Asuka and Dyna were heavily involved in the marketing for the film, but had very little screen time - and absolutely no mention in the opening credits. Nice way to treat someone who was returning from the dead ...
Despite being potentially the biggest game-changer in Ultraman history, at least as far as Dyna fans were concerned.
Last year, Zero was put out to star in his own movie, and three older properties of Tsuburaya were hitched to his star. It also had a cameo by Ultraman Noa, as a deus ex machina. At last report, before it dropped off the charts, it had made $4.78 million dollars.
It's fairly clear that, the producers and writers are quite fond of the Classic Showa Era, and had wanted to modernize it, creating their own "super" Ultraman for that purpose. It's even more clear that the general audience is far more interested in supporting the Ultras of their childhood in the mid-'90's; and that the hardcore Ultra fans' are not enough to safely support the franchise on their own. Which leads us to the newest Ultra movie ...
Now, we have Ultraman Saga coming up, a tad late this time. Again, Zero is front and center, but right behind him are Dyna and Cosmos. And, it's rumored that Cosmos' and Leo's actors are in the movie, as well as various main cast members from Dyna's show. The official list of actors should be announced soon. One would hope that Tsuburaya will give extensive screen time to Dyna and Cosmos, especially on their human hosts. This nostalgia factor should serve to draw in the general audience, boosting the box office.
Which is
absolutely critical to getting the Ultraman franchise off the ground, and back on TV again.
