There’s a new Studio Ghibli movie on the horizon, and despite teasing his retirement, Hayao Miyazaki appears to be in the director’s chair once again. Hayao Miyazaki has been directing movies since 1979, and he’s worked in the industry for many years before that. He’s been nominated for four Academy Awards, won two, been nominated for two Golden Globes and won one, and been nominated for 14 Annie Awards and won five. Miyazaki is one of the greatest living directors and arguably one of the greatest ever, up there with Scorsese, Coppola, and Spielberg.

His latest, The Boy and the Heron, premiered in July 2023 and earned an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, and made $282 million at the box office (via BoxOfficeMojo). The Boy and the Heron is a bit more inscrutable than Miyazaki’s earlier films, but it sits with you, and after sitting with you, it becomes obvious that it’s one of his most important stories. Immensely personal and reflective, The Boy and the Heron would have been a triumphant grand finale to Miyazaki’s career, and for a moment some thought it was. Thankfully, that doesn’t appear to be the case.

Hayao Miyazaki’s New Studio Ghibli Movie Will Reportedly Be “A Nostalgic Action-Adventure Story”

Goro Miyazaki Said His Father Is Working On Something New

During a preview of the “How Do You Live? Exhibition”, How Do You Live being the Japanese тιтle for The Boy and the Heron, at the Ghibli Museum on May 24, 2024, Goro Miyzaki said his father, Hayao, is working on a new project (via AnimeHunch). Goro said his father was creating panorama boxes of his past work. Realizing his dad may be getting bored with revisiting old projects, Goro suggested he work on something new,

“And that’s what he’s working on now. Whether it will actually become his next film, I don’t know, but it’s a nostalgic action-adventure story, and I’m looking forward to it.”

It’s important to note that the translation of Goro’s speech could translate literally to “in the style of an adventure movie/film“, but it could also broadly refer to an “action-adventure movie”. This is in line with what other Studio Ghibli executives have said about Miyazaki. At TIFF in May 2024, Studio Ghibli’s Vice President, Junichi Nishioka, said (via AnimeHunch),

“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.”

It’s hard to guess exactly what Miyazaki could be planning. Basically, all his movies could fall into the “action-adventure” category, so it’s not particularly telling that his next one will be in a similar drama. Goro also seems to imply Miyizaki’s next work may not necessarily be a film, meaning Miyazaki could be working on just about anything.

It Doesn’t Look Like Hayo Miyazaki Is Retiring Anytime Soon

Miyazaki “Can Only Return”

Hayao Miyazaki has announced his retirement multiple times, and it’s almost a joke now when he says he’s done making films. He first announced his retirement in 1998 but quickly returned to Studio Ghibli (via Domestika). Then, in 2012, he said The Wind Rises would be his final film. With a decade between The Wind Rises and The Boy and the Heron, it did seem like he had retired from directing for good, though in that period, he still made short films and was frequently thanked in Studio Ghibli credits, suggesting he had a hand in their development.

He also focused on curating the Ghibli Museum and working on displays. However, we should have known he would never be able to stay away from filmmaking forever. After The Boy and the Heron, it appears that he has a renewed vigor in filmmaking. The taciturn Miyazaki has never given a real reason for coming out of retirement, but a 2004 interview may give some insight into his thought process (via Nausicaa),

“Although I have thought about leaving the world of animation for many times, whenever I see a piece of work that I really like, I would naturally want it to express it in my own ideas. When I hand it to the others, I always think about how this and that should be done. At last, I feel that it will be better if I take up the work myself. In order to bring out the original spirit of the work, I can only return.”

“I can only return” may be the most personal thing Miyazaki’s ever said. It’s unknown when a new Studio Ghibli movie is coming out, but there’s a good chance that when it does, Hayao Miyazaki will once again be at the helm.