Studio Ghibli Reopens for Hayao Miyazaki’s Next Film
“Retirement” is often a synonym for a “long break” or an “artistic vacay” for creatives who insist they’re done doing what they do best. Steven Soderbergh is re-emerging from his “retirement” next week with Logan Lucky, and Hayao Miyazaki is on his way to returning to filmmaking (again) after retiring. But even if you were skeptical about the master animator’s return, have no fear because today brings some more solid proof.
As The Playlist spotted, Studio Ghibli’s website announced in a newsletter this week that the animation studio has reopened its production department for Miyazaki’s new film. According to a Japanese translation of the site’s post (via French Miyazaki fan site Buta Connection, which I doubled checked with the help of Google translate), the newsletter reveals the studio production staff returned in July when Miyazaki began discussions about his upcoming project. The studio has also been seeking new recruits for video and art production since the spring and will officially begin training its newest staff members in the fall once this mysterious project kicks off production in Tokyo.
Though it has yet to be confirmed, it seems likely the filmmaker is working on the rumored feature Boro the Caterpillar. After Miyazaki announced his retirement from the industry in 2013, declaring that The Wind Rises would be his swan song, the filmmaker began working on Boro the Caterpillar last year, his first CGI short film. Then earlier this year Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki revealed Miyazaki was adapting that short into a feature-length project. We can only assume that’s what the studio has reopened for, unless the Spirited Away filmmaker is hard at work on a totally new movie. Keep an eye on the official Studio Ghibli site for more announcements, hopefully coming this fall.