The annual Kamen Rider team-up movie, where the current Rider has an adventure alongside the previous year's model, has become something of a tradition in Japan. The thing is, it's been going for so long that it has to be a pretty tough task to top what happened in the last one. There have been climactic wars between all the Riders, the return of the original "Legendary 7" from the foundation of the franchise, and even invasions from alternate dimensions where the bad guys won and turned all the good guys evil. Once you've done all that, you have to wonder where you can possibly go next.

Clearly, there's only one thing to do: Get New Japan Pro Wrestling star Hiroshi Tanahashi to play one of the villains in a movie that also stars five different Riders and Pac-Man. No, seriously. That's what's happening in the next one.

Pac-Man's appearance in the upcoming Kamen Rider Heisei Generations: Dr. Pac-Man vs. Ex-Aid & Ghost with Legend Riders (it's a mouthful) actually makes a lot of sense. The current show, Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, is themed around video games, and since Bandai, the toy licensor that sponsors Kamen Rider, also happens to own Pac-Man's parent company, it was probably a pretty easy sell to get him involved to make it feel like a big event.

Tanahashi, on the other hand, is a bit of a bigger surprise. It's not the first time he's been involved, though --- in addition to being a seven-time International Wrestling Grand Prix World Heavyweight Champion, Tanahashi's also a noted Rider fan who's made appearances in Kamen Rider-themed music videos, as well playing a role in the tenth anniversary special for another tokusatsu show, Garo.

Judging by the photo in the tweet above, Tanahashi plays a scientist who also wears wrestling boots, though his character will be transformed into a monster called the Robot Bugster.

Kamen Rider Heisei Generations: Dr. Pac-Man vs. Ex-Aid & Ghost with Legend Riders premieres in Japan on December 10.