Makoto Shinkai may not be a household name yet but it’s safe to say that he’s well on his way. Shinkai has been hailed as the next Hayao Miyazaki for much of his career, pushing the boundaries of animation and showing the world that anime can be art cinema in its own right. Much like Miyazaki did with his Studio Ghibli. After 2017’s horrifically overlooked Your Name, fans of Shinkai have been not-so-patiently waiting for the director’s next film.
Well, thanks to animation distributor GKIDS, Shinkai’s Weathering With You is set to make its U.S. debut sometime over the summer. Unfortunately, the run will be a limited one to provide the film eligibility at next year’s awards competitions. The film will receive a full theatrical release at some point in 2020. The film will tell the story of Hokoda, a runaway high school student who meets Hina, a mysterious girl with the power to change the weather.
GKIDS founder and CEO, Eric Beckman, released a statement alongside the announcement of his companies acquisition. “GKIDS is thrilled to be working with Makato Shinkai and Genki Kawamura on Weathering With You, following their blockbuster hit Your Name,” said Beckman. “We have been huge fans of Makato Shinkai since his breathtaking 5 Centimeters Per Second, and he is unquestionably one of the top animation filmmakers working today. Weathering With You combines Shinkai’s unparalleled visually beautiful and detailed animation with a riveting emotional story that will be sure to connect with audiences worldwide.”
Weathering With You is set to hit theaters in Japan in July. It will make a small theatrical run in the U.S. around the same time and receive a full run in 2020.
