The director of Godzilla Minus One is at the top of the world right now. For years, Takashi Yamazaki has quietly built himself into one of Japan’s top filmmakers, and he is now a household name. Godzilla Minus One debuted last year to impressive reviews, and it is being hailed as one of the franchise’s best entries to date. Yamazaki and his team are now facing an Academy Award nomination thanks to their work. And as for what’s next, well – it sounds like Yamazaki really wants to film his own take of Studio Ghibli’s Nausicaa.
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This news has surfaced with fans in the wake of Yamazaki’s Godzilla success. In Japan, the TV series Bokura no Jidai uncovered Yamazaki’s interest in Studio Ghibli a few years back. The program had Studio Ghibli executive producer and co-founder Toshio Suzuki on the show, after all. It was there the exec confessed Yamazaki asked about adapting Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind many times but to no avail.
“I’ve heard that many times from Yamazaki personally,” Suzuki revealed, “but the answer has always been no.”
Of course, this revelation is hardly surprising. At the time of the interview, Takashi was just starting to make global headlines with Lupin III: The First and Stand By Me Doraemon 2. Studio Ghibli has never endorsed a live-action film adaptation of its films, and despite Yamazaki’s talent, you can see why the company wouldn’t want to hand over Nausicaa. That may very well be the case still at Studio Ghibli. But in light of the success Godzilla Minus One, Yamazaki is looking like an excellent candidate for such an adaptation.
For now, Yamazaki can only continue his campaign to adapt Nausicaa behind the scenes. Hayao Miyazaki is very protective of his work, and Nausicaa is no exception. After the movie was adapted into a truly terrible video game, Miyazaki has hovered over Nausicaa. The acclaimed anime feature may never get a live-action adaptation, but if it does, we can only hope Studio Ghibli calls up Yamazaki.
What do you think about Yamazaki’s plea to Studio Ghibli? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!
