Guillermo del Toro is slated to speak at Crunchyroll's inaugural Anime Future Forum on October 7, 2026, in New York, and is also featured in the Ultraman 60th anniversary documentary The Origin of Ultraman, opening July 3, 2026.
Guillermo del Toro appears in two distinct 2026 anime-adjacent projects. Crunchyroll named him a headline speaker for its first Anime Future Forum, an invitation-only summit held October 7 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, one day before New York Comic Con. The forum, themed "Designing for Anime's Future," expects more than 400 industry figures and features del Toro alongside James Gunn, MAPPA president Manabu Otsuka, Toho executive Taichi Ueda, and others. Sony Group CEO Hiroki Totoki opens the event.
Del Toro is also one of several notable fans interviewed for The Origin of Ultraman, a Tsuburaya Productions documentary marking the tokusatsu franchise's 60th anniversary. The film, opening July 3, covers the creation of the original series through archival footage and interviews with original cast and crew, as well as del Toro, Hideaki Anno, and Hideo Kojima. Hirokazu Kore-eda is credited as the documentary's planner.
Across both stories, del Toro is positioned as a prominent anime and tokusatsu figurehead rather than a creator or director in these projects. His role at the forum is as a speaker, and in the documentary he is an interviewee and fan. The two announcements came within months of each other, with the forum details announced in August 2026 and the documentary announced in May 2026.
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Aug 29
Crunchyroll announced the first program details for the Crunchyroll Anime Future Forum, set for October 7, 2026, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. The invitation-only event expects more than 400 anime industry figures. Speakers include executives from Shueisha, Toho, MAPPA, and Aniplex, plus Guillermo del Toro, James Gunn, and the co-directors of Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. Sony Group CEO Hiroki Totoki opens the event.
Aug 27
Crunchyroll has announced the first slate of speakers for its inaugural Anime Future Forum, an invitation-only industry summit set for Oct. 7 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. The event runs one day before New York Comic Con opens at the same venue. Filmmakers Guillermo del Toro and James Gunn headline the lineup, joined by senior executives from Japan's anime and manga industry, including MAPPA president and CEO Manabu Otsuka, Toho executive officer Taichi Ueda, Shueisha's Shonen Jump+ digital editor-in-chief Yuta Momiyama, and Sony Music Entertainment Japan president Atsuhiro Iwakami, who also chairs Aniplex. Sony Pictures Animation president Kristine Belson will moderate a panel with Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse directors Bob Persichetti and Justin K. Thompson. Olympic figure skater Amber Glenn, rapper Big Sean, and content creator Jordan Howlett will participate as anime superfans. Sony Group president and CEO Hiroki Totoki delivers opening remarks, and Crunchyroll president Rahul Purini closes with remarks and news. Themed "Designing for Anime's Future," the summit expects more than 400 industry figures and will organize discussions around fandom, technology, storytelling, and intellectual property protection, with sessions on transmedia storytelling, theatrical experiences, manga's future, and influencer roles.
May 16
Tsuburaya Productions announced a documentary film titled The Origin of Ultraman, opening July 3, to celebrate the tokusatsu franchise's 60th anniversary. The film covers the creation of the original series with archival footage and interviews with original cast, crew, and notable fans including Guillermo del Toro, Hideaki Anno, and Hideo Kojima. Hirokazu Kore-eda is credited as the documentary's planner.