Studio Ghibli has shut down its official Twitter account. At the time of writing, the reason for this is currently unknown. The announcement comes a few months before the Western release of their next movie, The Boy and the Heron.
The Boy and the Heron is Hayao Miyazaki’s first film in roughly ten years, and the iconic composer Joe Hisaishi returned to score the film’s soundtrack for his long-time friend. This is one of Miyazaki’s highest-grossing films in Japan, with nearly 8 billion yen. This holiday season, fans in the West will finally be able to watch the film for the first time. Earlier today, Ghibli released a new trailer for the film revealing the character’s English cast.
Studio Ghibli Twitter Account Shut Down
Studio Ghibli initially launched its Twitter account in 2020 alongside the announcement of Miyazaki’s next film, The Boy and the Heron. The company shut down the account just a few months before the Western release of the film. At the time of writing, the reason for the shutdown is unknown. More information on whether or not a new Twitter account will ever be created for another Ghibli film will be revealed in the coming months.
Earlier today, the company released a new trailer for the film before its release in December. The trailer shows off the cast, which includes:
- Christian Bale (Batman Begins, The Prestige, Ford v Ferrari) as Shoichi Maki
- Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy, Blade Runner 2049, Glass Onion) as The Parakeet King
- Gemma Chan (Eternals, Crazy Rich Asians) as Natsuko
- Willem Dafoe (The Lighthouse, Spider-Man, Aquaman, John Wick) as Noble Pelican
- Karen Fukuhara (The Boys, Suicide Squad, Bullet Train) as Lady Himi
- Mark Hamill (The Fall of the House of Usher, Star Wars, Batman: The Animated Series) as Granduncle
- Robert Pattinson (The Batman, The Lighthouse, Twilight) as The Gray Heron
- Florence Pugh (Oppenheimer, Midsommar, Black Widow) as Kiriko
Here’s an overview of the upcoming film, courtesy of GKIDS Films:
A young boy named Mahito
yearning for his mother
ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead.
There, death comes to an end,
and life finds a new beginning.
A semi-autobiographical fantasy about life, death, and creation, in tribute to friendship, from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.
Lastly, The Boy and the Heron will come to Western theaters in English on December 8.
