At the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of The Boy and the Heron, news broke that Hayao Miyazaki’s retirement plans may have been announced too soon.
In an interview with CBC on the red carpet for the film’s TIFF premiere, Studio Ghibli executive Junichi Nishioka shared that the animation legend may have not taken retirement too seriously—certainly not as seriously as the media has. “Other people say that this might be his last film, but he doesn’t feel that way at all,” Nishioka told CBC about Miyazaki’s known mercurial mood. “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 working just as he has always done.”
Well, there you have it: the 83-year-old master of animation remains as unpredictable and full of ideas as ever. He really had us there acting all solemn about this being his last film before being like “just kidding!” That’s so Ghibli of him and we’re relieved.
The Boy and the Heron opened earlier this summer in Japan under the title How Do You Live?; after kicking off TIFF, it’s set to open in North American theaters on December 8.
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