Studio Ghibli have announced that their next animated feature (due in Japan next summer) will be Gedo Senki/ Gedo War History according to Ghibli Online. It is an adaptation of the first part of one of the most beloved of fantasy works, A Wizard of Earthsea, the first of the wonderful Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea series. The film will be directed by Goro Miyazaki, son of the famous Hideo who brought us Nausicaa, Spirited Away and the recent Howl’s Moving Castle (itself adapted from a fantasy novel, in this case by Dianna Wynne Jones).
However, Myazaki senior is rumoured to be less than pleased with this turn of events – his son has never actually directed a film and according to Ghibli Online Goro has posted observations on his father’s opposition to his directing on a web site (alas in Japanese, so I can’t confirm). There are no dates for a UK or US release yet, but it is expected in Japan next July, so it is fair to assume it will be some time after that before English language audiences get to see it. Let’s hope it is better than the SciFi Channel’s adaptation of Earthsea.
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