In an annual New Year’s greeting, it was revealed that there are two new Studio Ghibli movies currently in the process of production at the animation company.
The first new Studio Ghibli movie, Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka (“How Do You Live?”), which is Hayao Miyazaki‘s first movie since returning from “semi-retirement,” had been previously announced. It is assumed that the movie takes its title from the 1937 novel of the same name by Genzaburo Yoshino. While there had initially been hope that this movie would be ready to premiere in time for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, current projections suggest that How Do You Live? will be released in 2021 or 2022.
While the first new Studio Ghibli movie had previously been announced, this is the first time the second movie has been mentioned. At this time, there are no known details about the second new Studio Ghibli movie. Nevertheless, news of any new movie from the studio responsible for classics like Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Princess Mononoke is good news, indeed.
The annual New Year’s message also took time to acknowledge the difficulties that have been caused by natural disasters in Japan, as well as to meditate on the fact that 2020 is the year of the Rat (a theme reflected in the artwork for the New Year’s greeting, included above).
2019 was a big year for beloved animation company Studio Ghibli, with both the announcement that a long-awaited theme park will be opening and the news that the studio’s entire catalog will be made available for streaming exclusively via HBO Max making headlines. Still, with the news of a second movie in production at Studio Ghibli, the future is looking even more promising than ever.
