Comparing Disney with Studio Ghibli you would never think they operate in the same industry. After the revelations at D23 on Friday, we now know exactly what Disney and Pixar have planned for at least the next three years and even when to expect each major release: Hexed this November, Oswald in February, Pixar's Gatto in March, Frozen 3 in November 2027, and then Incredibles 3, Ghost Market and Clay in 2028 and Coco 2 in 2029.
And Japan's Studio Ghibli? It's been three years since it released the Oscar-winning Boy and the Heron, and it still doesn't know what it's next film will be or what co-founder Hayao Mayazaki is working on, according to a new report.
The update comes from a recent in‑depth feature on Studio Ghibli published by Bloomberg. The article was written by Sohee Kim and Felix Gillette following a visit to Ghibli’s headquarters near Tokyo, where they spoke with Hayao's son, the landscape architect and animation director Goro Miyazaki, as well as the studio's new president and CEO Kenichi Yoda.
The report paints a portrait of a company with an uncertain future, but which seems quite happy with this ambiguity. It says that Hayao, now 85, still turns up to the office every day, but nobody knows what he's working on, and there's no idea of what the next movie will be. “Only he knows exactly what he’s working on,” Yoda says.
Yoda told the reporters that the studio's founders had never cared much about market research, investors, or strict release schedules. If the inspiration isn’t there, they won’t force a film into existence, he said.
And while Yoda says the studio could be open to collaborating with an outside director one day, Goro suggests that's "impossible" while his father is alive. “Any sane animation director would not come close to this castle,” Yoda adds.
He also mentions that part of this role means ensuring that "nothing changes" after Nippon TV acquired a majority stake in the studio in 2023. He said the TV chain has so far avoided pushing Ghibli toward franchise expansion.
Studio Ghibli's new stance on AI
Miyazaki is famously quoted as defining AI as an “insult to life itself”, although the comment was in response to a demo of one specific early application. It turns out from the interview that the studio isn't so definitively anti-AI as some might have hoped.
Goro says the studio’s stance is neutral: “We’re not denying, or feeling negative, about AI technology itself.” He also suggests that the late Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata would have experimented with it given his interest in embracing new tools.
Before the AI bros get excited, this is hardly a vindication of AI either. We all know that AI technology in creative workflows comes in many different forms, not only image and video generation. More recently, Ghibli, very politely, asked OpenAI to stop ripping off its animation style. I don't think we'll be seeing it following Disney in pursuit of AI partnerships too soon.
These rules were posted in the Studio Ghibli office (see documentary) - can someone please translate them?!from r/ghibli
The interview reinforces the idea that Studio Ghibli is almost the philosophical inverse of Disney and Pixar in the west. It rejects rigid planning, market‑driven strategies, and franchise expansion, embracing uncertainty, artistic spontaneity and cultural depth. Where Disney/Pixar operate as global entertainment machines, Ghibli deliberately resists the industrialisation of its art and operates with no masterplan.
This doesn't mean that life at Ghibli is as laid back as it might seem. Remember those "Studio Ghibli rules" posted online a while back? Reportedly showing a sign at the studio's HQ inspired by a quote from Hayao, they stipulate the "conditions for employees we want to leave".
The undesired traits included not thinking independently, not doing anything without being told, quickly relying on others for help or being frequently absent or late. This is a studio with a strong discipline and work ethic. It just doesn’t worry about when the inspiration is going to strike or how the market will react. It also seems to be in no hurry to answer the question of who might step into Miyazaki's shows, and how the studio will evolve without him.
