Makoto Shinkai’s new film, currently titled Suzume no Tojimari (Suzume's Door-Locking in English), has just gotten new key art, a new trailer, and a Japanese premiere date.
This will be the director’s first film in three years, after 2019's Weathering With You, which the director considered to be an extension of his most popular and critically acclaimed film Your Name. Like his 2016 fantasy romance, Suzume no Tojimari centers around a teenager who finds herself dealing with fantastical supernatural elements. Suzume is a 17-year-old girl who, when in a tranquil small town in Kyushu, is told by a young man about the existence of a magical door. Suzume finds this lone timeworn door standing in the middle of abandoned dilapidated buildings. At this time, mysterious doors start appearing around Japan, unleashing chaos upon anyone and anything in the vicinity. Suzume is drawn to this curious door, and once she opens it, her journey begins.
The key art that was unveiled depicts the heroine standing in front of the door holding a small wooden chair. On the right-hand side, a tagline reads “Ittekimasu”, which is a common Japanese phrase for when one is departing from home and can roughly translate to “See you later”. It is often followed by an "Itterasshai" from the person who stays home, but in this case, Suzume is alone in her journey with seemingly no one to see her off.
“We must think about how to close the many doors we left open,” Shinkai said in a statement “I’ve bestowed that responsibility upon Suzume as she travels across Japan closing various doors. It is my sincere hope that this film leaves its audiences with big smiles and excitement as they walk out of the theater.”
Shinkai is credited with directing the film as well as writing the original story. Masayoshi Tanaka is in charge of character design, Kenichi Tsychiya is the animation director, and Takumi Tanji is the art director. The movie is produced by CoMix Wave Films and Story Inc., with Toho handling distribution.
In Japan, the film’s theatrical release is set for November 11, 2022. In the meantime, check out the brand new poster and trailer below:
