AFTER all the buzz surrounding The Boy and the Heron being Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki’s final film before retirement, it seems like the legendary filmmaker has pulled the rug under everyone’s feet once again.
At a recent red carpet interview at the Toronto International Film Festival, Studio Ghibli vice president Junichi Nishioka was quoted by CBC as saying that nothing has changed; Miyazaki is still going into the office with new movie ideas.
For the past few years leading up to the film’s Japan release, Studio Ghibli has never released a single trailer to promote Miyazaki’s “final film.” The most they did was reveal the title and a lone poster.
The film’s entire marketing relied on word of mouth that it would be Miyazaki’s final animated film.
“Other people say that this might be [Miyazaki’s] last film, but he doesn’t feel that way at all,” Nishioka told the CBC.
“He is currently working on ideas for a new film. He comes into his office every day and does that. This time, he’s not going to announce his retirement at all. He’s continuing to work just as he has always done.”
For anyone even remotely familiar with Studio Ghibli, this is not the first time Miyazaki (and the studio) have done this.
Miyazaki’s previous “final films” were 2013’s The Wind Rises and then 2018’s Boro the Catepillar.