Clearly, Hayao Miyazaki is not done. Some of the reviews for “The Boy and the Heron” were calling it his “swan song”, but get that thought out of your head immediately.
Studio Ghibli VP Junichi Nishioka mentioned during TIFF that it would not be the 82-year-old Miyazaki’s final film. It turns out that Miyazaki is already hard at work at Ghibli offices with a new project.
During a press conference related to the release of "The Boy and the Heron", producer Toshio Suzuki again made it clear that Miyazaki intends to make another film, via french newspaper Libération:
“He thinks about this new project every day, I can no longer stop him, I have given up on that. I’m no longer trying to dissuade him, even if it might be a bad film. In life, only work enchants him.”
“We spoke again earlier today […] he started talking about this new project, so I'm not stopping him anymore. As long as he works I will not retire. He is 82 years old, I think he will continue until he is 90 years old and I’ll be going along with him for the ride.”
While “The Boy and the Heron” was presented as Miyazaki’s final work, Suzuki makes it clear, barring any health complications, that this will not be the case. The quality in Miyazaki’s films hasn’t deteriorated either with age.
“The Boy and the Heron” is a visual masterpiece. I reviewed it at TIFF, where I described it as “nothing short of stunning.” The film is a surreal experience. A French trailer, with never before seen footage, was released earlier today.
Miyazaki’s latest is set to premiere in select theaters on November 22th, followed by a nationwide rollout December 8th.
Netflix and Skydance Animation have also called it quits. The two sides announced Monday that they're ending the animated film deal struck back in 2023, framing it as a mutual decision.