Studio Ghibli boss Toshio Suzuki addressed Hayao Miyazaki’s canceled retirement after it was recently confirmed that The Boy and the Heron won’t be the acclaimed filmmaker’s last film after all. Speaking with French publication Liberation (via ComicBook), Suzuki admitted that he doesn’t think that Miyazaki will ever stop working since making movies “delights him.”
Suzuki also confirmed that Miyazaki has already started developing his next animated feature. “He’s thinking about this next project every day, and I can’t stop him — in fact, I’ve given up,” he said. “I no longer try to dissuade him, even if he were to make a failed film. In life, it’s only the work that delights him.”
He continued, “We were talking again just now, and he said something incredible to me. ‘By the way, what was my last film about? I can’t remember.’ And then he started talking about a new project, so I’m not stopping him. As long as he’s working, I won’t be able to retire. He’s 82, and I think he’ll go on until he’s 90. I’m going with him.”
When will The Boy and the Heron arrive in U.S. theaters?
Following its theatrical run in Japan in July of 2023, The Boy and the Heron (originally titled How Do You Live) will finally make its debut in U.S. theaters on December 8, with GKIDS handling its North American distribution. Prior to this, the film recently had its international premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, where it received positive reviews from critics.
“Through encounters with his friends and uncle, follows a teenage boy’s psychological development,” reads the synopsis. “He enters a magical world with a talking grey heron after finding an abandoned tower in his new town.”
The film is written and directed by Miyazaki, who’s best known for directing classics like My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Ponyo. The hand-drawn animated film features the voices of Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda (The Backwater), singer Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura (Confessions), Shōhei Hino (As Long as We Both Shall Live), Ko Shibasaki (47 Ronin), Takuya Kimura (Howl’s Moving Castle), and more.
The Boy and the Heron is produced by Studio Ghibli founder Toshio Suzuki. Its musical score hails from Miyazaki’s long-time collaborator Joe Hisaishi, and the film’s theme song, “Spinning Globe,” was penned and performed by global J-pop superstar Kenshi Yonezu.
