Twisters director Lee Isaac Chung has an explanation for why he dropped out of the Your Name live-action adaptation.
Your Name is a widely beloved Japanese animated fantasy film that was released in North America in 2017. In September 2017, it was announced that J.J. Abrams had plans to produce a live-action adaptation of the film that will be released through Paramount Pictures.
The Amazing Spider-Man’s Marc Webb signed on to direct the film in 2019; however, it was then announced in 2020 that Chung had replaced him. Chung left the project in July 2021 and was replaced by Carlos López Estrada.
Why did Lee Isaac Chung drop out of the live-action Your Name movie?
Speaking with Empire Magazine, Chung reflected on why the project never came to fruition while he was working on it.
“That was a situation in which I just loved all the people so much,” he said. “…I like the animated film, but what I didn’t realize is how hard it is to adapt a Japanese animated movie and to try to do that for America. That was the goal that Toho had put before us. But it’s really hard to do.”
He added, “During the pandemic, I worked on that script for many months and ultimately came to a place where I realized I had written something I just couldn’t even shoot.”
Along with 2024’s Twisters starring Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones, Chung is known for directing 2020’s Minari starring Steven Yeun, Alan Kim, and Youn Yuh-jung. He recently directed an episode of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, which premieres on Disney+ on December 3, 2024.
Estrada, meanwhile, is known for making 2018’s Blindspotting, 2022’s Summertime, and 2021’s Raya and the Last Dragon. The live-action Your Name remake does not have a release date at this time.
