Hayao Miyazaki will come out of retirement, again, for another feature film

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Ha! I totally called this bit of news back in 2013, when legendary filmmaker, Hayao Miyazaki, announced his retirement just as the Oscar-nominated film, THE RED TURTLE, went into production. Though, to be fair, I think we all saw this coming. Just for a laugh, I can't help but imagine Hayao reciting the line, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." to himself in the mirror on whichever morning he decided to get back in the game. And hey, I'm all for it! Miyazaki has made some of the most superb Japanese-animated films of all-time, including, but not limited to: SPIRITED AWAY, PRINCESS MONONOKE, MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE, and much more! Given the quality of these fine films, we should consider ourselves blessed that he's gearing up to help create another, if only to add to an already incredible library of animated features and short films.

Today, it's been announced that Miyazaki will begin work on a new feature for his Studio Ghibli studio, as said by his longtime friend and business partner, producer Toshio Suzuki. The news was revealed during a pre-Oscars hullabaloo in Los Angeles – members of Studio Ghibli were there in honor of their silent film, THE RED TURTLE, being nominated for the award for Best Animated Feature Film. For now, Japanese press has surmised that Miyazaki's next could be a feature-length version of his CGI animated short BORO THE CATEPILLAR, but were reluctant to confirm anything at this time. For the moment, Suzuki offered this statement about the upcoming project, "Right now in Tokyo, he’s putting all his effort into making it [the feature]. All I can say is that it’s really interesting."

While that's not much to go on, Suzuki also confirmed that Miyazaki had given him storyboards relating to the project last year, and that the planning stages are well underway. In the meantime, we'll just have to sit tight and wait for more of the good word on what was such an intriguing endeavor that it coaxed Miyazaki from kicking back for the rest of his days (again). 

Do you have a favorite Hayao Miyazaki film? Let us know what it is in the comments section below. In the meantime, be sure to check out THE RED TURTLE which is still playing in select theaters now.