Your Name, Weathering With You Director Teases Reveal of Next Movie

A new project by critically acclaimed filmmaker Makoto Shinkai, who wrote and directed Your Name and Weathering with You, is underway.

According to a post made to Twitter, a press conference about Shinkai's latest film project will be held on the Toho Movie Channel on YouTube on Dec. 15 at 11:00 pm Japan Standard Time. While the live broadcast will not include English subtitles, they will be added the following day.

Shinkai began his animation career in 1996 in the video game industry with the developer Nihon Falcom (The Legend of Heroes, Ys) before creating his first feature film, The Place Promised in Our Early Days, in 2004. Many of his movies have performed well with both fans and critics, particularly his most recent projects, Your Name and Weathering with You.

Your Name, which was released in 2016, is a romantic fantasy that tells the story of two high school students -- a boy who lives in Tokyo and a girl who lives in the Japanese countryside -- who inexplicably begin waking up in each others' bodies. It stars Ryūnosuke Kamiki (Mary and the Witch's Flower, Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time) and Mone Kamishiraishi (Wolf Children).

The film grossed over  ¥41.44 billion (US$380.15 million) worldwide, becoming one of the highest-grossing anime films of all time. It also received recognition from several prominent awards institutions, winning Best Animated Feature Film at the 49th Sitges Film Festival, the 2016 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards and the 71st Mainichi Film Awards. A live-action adaptation of Your Name is currently in development by Paramount Pictures.

Weathering with You, which debuted in 2019, is also a romantic fantasy film. The story follows a high school boy who runs away to Tokyo and an orphan girl with the power to control the weather. Like Your Name, the movie received praise from both anime fans and critics; it grossed roughly  ¥21.11 billion (US$193.65 million) globally and received multiple nominations from award institutions like the Academy Awards and Annie Awards.

Shinkai's new project is just one of several high profile anime films that will potentially be released in 2022 and beyond. It has been confirmed that Scherzo of a Dark Dusk, the second movie in the Sword Art Online the Movie - Progressive series, will premiere sometime next year. Netflix's Bubble, an all-new original anime film that reimagines traditional mermaid stories, is scheduled to debut on April 28, 2022. Its creative team features many anime industry veterans like Tetsuro Araki (Attack on Titan), Takeshi Obata (Death Note, Platinum End) and Gen Urobochi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica).

Your Name is currently available for streaming on Funimation. Weathering with You can be streamed on HBO Max.

Source: Twitter