The Boy and the Heron’s first trailer is a glimpse at Miyazaki’s next dark fantasy

One of the most secretive films of the year just got a little less mysterious with the first trailer for The Boy and the Heron. The latest film from Studio Ghibli and perhaps the final feature-length project from famed director Hayao Miyazaki, The Boy and the Heron premiered in Japan in July.

In the lead-up to its debut, Ghibli was refreshingly vague in discussing the film, which is also known as How Do You Live (and based on Genzaburo Yoshino’s novel of the same name). Prior to the trailer, all fans had to go on were a few still images, simple plot descriptions, and the teasiest of teasers.

For more on the film, be sure to check out our review from its Japanese premiere. But if you want to go in completely spoiler-free, here’s the basic setup:

During the Second World War, young Mahito Maki (Soma Santoki) suffers a heartbreaking family tragedy and must move immediately to the countryside, where his father (Takuya Kimura) works for a family making planes for Japan’s military, as Miyazaki’s own father did.

Isolated, Mahito begins exploring the mysterious landscapes and encounters a grey heron, persistent in its presence. The boy also happens upon an abandoned tower. Curious, he enters. From there, The Boy and the Heron expands into a wondrous, often-startling phantasmagoria.

The Boy and the Heron will be Miyazaki’s first feature film in a decade, following The Wind Rises in 2013. It’ll also be Ghibli’s first feature since 2020’s CG film Earwig and the Witch, directed by Hayao’s son Goro Miyazaki.

The new trailer comes ahead of the film’s North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this week, with a wider release on December 8th