Director Hiromasa Yonebayashi (The Secret World of Arrietty, When Marnie Was There) appeared at a special When Marnie Was There talk event with Olympic medal-winning figure skater Daisuke Takahashi in Tokyo on Thursday. He reported that he left Studio Ghibli at the end of last year. When the host asked Yonebayashi about his enthusiasm for his next work, Yonebayashi replied, "I'm no longer a Ghibli staffer. I left the company at the end of last year, and I don't have an affiliation."

Yonebayashi added, "I talked with producer Yoshiaki Nishimura and I thought about what I should do. I don't know in what form it would be, but I like to make works again." He reiterated the comments he made last week that he would like to make a cheerful work that is the complete opposite of Marnie , or possibly a fantasy.

Yonebayashi continued, "I had feelings about making works again, so after working with Takahashi, who retired and has moved to the next step [in his career] , I received courage." Takahashi responded, "I'm surprised […] I'm looking forward to it."

Studio Ghibli's former president Toshio Suzuki confirmed in a talk show for the Hana to Alice Satsujin Jiken (The Case of Hana & Alice) film that the studio is currently open, but is not doing anything.

Source: Oricon via Yaraon!