Makoto Shinkai Explains How COVID Influenced His Next Movie
Makoto Shinkai knows how to make a good movie, and the director is already working on his next [...]
Makoto Shinkai knows how to make a good movie, and the director is already working on his next film after Weathering With You. The filmmaker made it big a few years back when Your Name went live, and it was there fans learned how well Shinkai handled introspective stories. And according to the director, his next film will do the same as it was inevitably influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recently, TV Asahi spoke with Shinkai ahead of a recent re-release of Weathering With You. It was there fans learned more about the director's new film, and he said COVID has woven itself into the post-apocalyptic tale.
"The mood of the times is indelibly etched into the script," Shinkai said when asked about the story. The director went on to say he began writing the script right when Japan declared a state of emergency due to COVID.
"By making this film, I want a part of people to think, 'We'll somehow manage to get by, won't we?'" The coronavirus is a large-scale disaster, but over the decades of our lives, we'll experience many forms of disaster, I think. Many things in society will come to a dramatic end, or be dramatically changed, but even after that, people will continue to find a way to survive," Shinkai continued.
"Right now, I want to make a film that shows what happens after the apocalypse. Something will end. It is not a film where there is something that has to be held at bay. In the midst of a changed world, what kind of adventures will play out? How will people get in touch with their feelings? How will people live and overcome the shock of change? I want to make a film that depicts the things that we have to confront after the end of the world."
Clearly, this next film will hit close to home as COVID-19 is still a very real threat. The pandemic is continuing to ravage countries around the world with the United States recording 339,000 deaths and 19.6 million cases to date.
What do you think about Shinkai's comments? Are you surprised by how the pandemic influenced him? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.