The official website for Studio Trigger's Gridman Universe anime film revealed that its preceding TV series, SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon, would both be getting compilation movies released ahead of Gridman Universe itself. The website and Twitter account for the franchise posted trailers and key visuals for the new compilation movies, as well as revealing their release dates.
The SSSS.Dynazenon series had previously ended in 2021 with a tease for a crossover between it and SSSS.Gridman, then simply referred to as Gridman x Dynazenon. Since then Studio Trigger has revealed more information about the movie, including the proper title of Gridman Universe, a trailer, and a release date of March 24.
The new reveals for the compilation films indicate an intended run-up to Gridman Universe's release. The SSSS.Griman movie will be released in Japanese theaters on January 20, while the SSSS.Dynazenon film will come out on March 10, with both movies set to have limited two-week runs. The site also confirms that the casts from both anime will be returning for their movie versions, and that Yoshiyuki Kaneko and Yoshihiro Miyajima, assistant directors for the SSSS.Gridman and SSSS.Dynazenon TV series, respectively, will be handling direction for their compilations.
The original SSSS.Gridman anime was released back in 2018, so a compilation film should serve as a refresher for viewers ahead of the new crossover movie. As well, both compilation films can provide the opportunity for fans to see characters who, due to the stories of those previous entries, might not appear in the new film.
Trigger's series comes with an already-storied history. The SSSS.Gridman anime was itself a follow-up to the classic 1993 tokusatsu series Denkou Choujin Gridman (adapted in the west as Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad). The franchise received numerous spin-offs including manga and novels, and the SSSS.Dynazenon anime followed up in 2021, with a story set in the same overall universe, paying homage to additional elements from Denkou Choujin Gridman. Both anime proved extremely successful, and have had English-language Blu-rays released. There has been no word yet on a western theatrical release for Gridman Universe, nor the newly-announced compilation films. Trigger's previous film, 2019's Promare, received multiple runs in North America courtesy of GKIDS, so it remains to be seen if Gridman will receive similar treatment.