Speaking to Deadline last week, Toei President and CEO Fumio Yoshimura discussed the companies’ interest in global distribution of their live action work. Soon after, a Kamen Rider Global account appeared on Twitter and requested tokusatsu fans tell them what type of content they would like to see.
As part of their weekly International Disruptors feature, Fumio sat down with Deadline during his visit to Los Angeles to discuss the companies’ plans going forward. He pointed out that due to Japan’s declining birth rates the company are looking to grow their audience overseas by bringing new and pre-existing projects to western markets.
While the company already has a strong overseas fanbase with their big name anime productions like One Piece, Dragon Ball, Digimon, Sailor Moon and Slam Dunk, the goal of this new push is for live action productions to further strengthen their international reach. Speaking on existing tokusatsu projects, Fumio said:
“We also want to look at how we can expand our existing tokusatsu special effects franchises – Kamen Rider, Super Sentai and Power Rangers – this has always been Toei’s forte and we’re hoping to expand these properties,”
The wait is over.
— KAMEN RIDER Global (@KamenRider_EN) April 3, 2025
Official Kamen Rider Global account is here!#KamenRider #Tokusatsu pic.twitter.com/9UNr12Vp0k
The company has put aside 300 billion yen for their planned expansion and are working on a Game of Thrones style historical drama series with writers from the United States, co-producing a yet to be revealed movie set in New York and are planning to release a brand new superhero franchise made with international markets in mind.
It's yet to be seen what the plans are for their larger pre-existing toku productions but with the emergence of this Kamen Rider Global account on twitter, there's at least some hope in fans that Kamen Rider may be about to see a larger presence in western markets than ever before.
Sources:
Toei
Deadline
Kamen Rider Global
