Once again, legendary anime director Hayao Miyazaki has come out of retirement to direct a yet-to-be titled film. Miyazaki is an internationally renowned anime artist and director who has released such critically acclaimed works as Howls Moving Castle, Spirited Away, and My Neighbor Totoro (among others), and it looks like he’s not done yet. Originally announcing his retirement in 2013 following the release of The Wind Rises, during this year’s Oscars pre-show, it has been confirmed that he will be returning to his animation studio, Studio Ghibli, to work on a full length feature to be released in time for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Though there has been no confirmation about what the movie is, many speculate it is a film version of the Ghibli short Boro the Catpiller, which he spoke about in a TV documentary about his life that aired in Japan on November 2016.
While many are absolutely titillated the Miyazaki has returned to the world of anime, fans are not surprised that he has resumed working. Miyazaki has boasted a whopping six retirements that he has un-retired from, each time stating that he did not plan to come back. At age 76, he shows no signs of slowing down.
In other news, a few days ago, DC announced a new addition to their bizarre world of comic/cartoon crossovers: Looney Tunes. Unlike their previous addition of Hannah Barbara isolated comics, these characters will be included into the superhero works. You heard right! Classic cartoon villains will join the rogue galleries of your favorite superheroes and give them one a hell of a run for their money. Current crossovers announced are Batman/Elmer Fudd, Jonah Hex/Yosemite Sam, Lobo/Wile E. Coyote, and Martian Manhunter/Marvin the Martian. Say the last one five times fast!
So far, only one writer has been announced, Tom King, who will be penning the Batman/Elmer Fudd work. He didn’t give details but said the work will have a noir quality. No other creators or release dates have been announced yet, but it has been confirmed that the works will be one-shots instead of a series.
Finally, for all you Futurama fans who feared that there will never be more Futurama in your future-ama, you may now give thanks to the all mighty hypnofrog! In collaboration with the shows creators Matt Groening and David “The X Doesn’t Stand for Anything” Cohen, a new mobile game titled Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow will be hitting your phone in what we can only assume is going to be soon. The game is being powered by Fox Interactive, Matt Groening’s Curiosity Co., and TinyCo in collaboration with Futurama’s original animation studio, Rough Draft Studios, to ensure that authentic, Futurama feel! TinyCo is also responsible for the award-winning, Family Guy game Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff and is expected to bring the same kind of user friendly experience to the new game.
David ‘Xena?’ Cohen goes on record saying: “Futurama is back, bigger and better than ever! Or possibly smaller and equally good. But either way, it’s back! We’ve got completely new stories from the original writers, cast, and animators. This is the real Futurama deal.”
Though there is no word on what the gameplay is going to be, but with so many qualified hands involved, it’ll most likely be awesome. If you can’t wait until the un-announced date, there is already a Futurama game that is free to download onto your phone titled Futurama: Game of Drones, a match-three puzzle game that launched last year.