Studio Ghibli did not promote Hayao Miyazaki’s new film at all, but now, it seems the studio has finally given fans some crumbs. Recently, images from Miyazaki’s new movie The Boy and the Heron have finally been shared online.
Interestingly, these images were not released on the studio’s official channels.
Instead, these screenshots are from a booklet that was released for the film’s Japanese theatrical run.
This is quite a surprise, especially given how secretive the studio has been for this new film.
The Boy and the Heron Still Won’t Likely Get a Trailer Anytime Soon
Miyazaki “retired” in 2013 after his film The Wind Rises, but that retirement was short-lived as he returned to Ghibli once again to make his new “final” film, The Boy and the Heron (or How Do You Live? in Japan).
Given that this is probably Miyazaki’s proper final film, the excitement for it was incredibly high, so much so that it’s pretty much guaranteed to be successful even if it was not promoted.
That’s exactly what happened as Studio Ghibli has an interesting marketing strategy for the film. Instead of coming out with trailers and images, Ghibli only released one poster for it.
This lack of marketing for the movie is unprecedented, but it’s a testament to Miyazaki’s status as a premier anime director that the film became a huge box-office hit in Japan.
The Boy and the Heron is also set to release in North America later this year, though distributor GKIDS said they also intend to emulate Ghibli’s strategy in Japan, meaning we likely won’t get a trailer for it, maybe ever.
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Miyazaki’s Next Movie Finally Gets a First Proper Look
Despite the lack of a trailer, Ghibli fans finally got a first proper look at the movie via images that were shared online by various sources.
Specifically, these images are from a booklet that was distributed in Japan during the film’s theatrical run. The images show off some of the film’s characters and scenery.
There’s not much to say about these images as they don’t reveal much about the film’s story and characters.
But what can be said for certain is that they look stunning, with an art style that’s reminiscent of Miyazaki’s other works like Princess Mononoke.
The Boy and the Heron will release in North American cinemas later this year, though there’s no word on a specific release date yet.
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