After his son Goro scored a hit with Gedo Senki, Hayao Miyazaki came out of retirement (again) to work on a new movie. Details coming in March.
(Source: www.nausicaa.net)
(Writer's note: I'm putting this in my blog since there's not enough detail to make this a full news story)
In a news conference on January 18th, Studio Ghibli president Toshio Suzuki said that details about Hayao Miyazaki's next movie will be announced in March.
At present, there is little known about the as-yet-unnamed project. There was an uncomfirmed rumour that it would be based on a Chinese story called I Lost My Little Boy. It is known however, that Hayao was painting various areas in Kobe for possible backgrounds.
Hayao had originally retired from filmmaking after making Princess Mononoke in 1997. However, he returned after the daughter of a family friend inspired the story of 2001's Spirited Away, the first anime to win an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film. Hayao retired yet again, but returned to direct Howl's Moving Castle after original director Mamoru Hosoda left the project. Hayao had also said that this would be his last film.
This latest announcement meant that he was unable to commit to an adaptation of Ursula K. LeGuin's novel Tales From Earthsea. Goro, Hayao's son, was encouraged to direct the movie (now called Gedo Senki) by studio head Suzuki, since LeGuin had only agreed to the adaptation on the basis that Hayao would be involved. Obviously Suzuki felt that Miyazaki fils was better than no Miyazaki at all.
Goro's work on Gedo Senki led to a rift between the two men, with many feeling that Hayao was feeling threatened by his son becoming an anime director. Hayao's third return may be seen as a part of that, proving that Gedo Senki's box office success doesn't mean the elder Miyazaki is no longer relevant.
Either way, the news that Hayao Miyazaki is working on a new movie can only be a good thing for anime fans.
