A visit from Hayao Miyazaki doesn’t come very often, but it will be coming this month. Frank Marshall, producer of the American version of Miyazaki’s latest, Ponyo, has revealed via Twitter that the director will be attending this year’s Comic Con.
That’s a pretty huge deal, and it makes this Comic Con a massive one when it comes to rare talent. Attendees can expect to see Peter Jackson and James Cameron as well (I know that Jackson is coming to his first Con this year; I suspect Cameron has also never been, but can’t recall), and Miyazaki is just the icing on that cake.
Miyazaki’s going to be all over the place in July, in fact. He’s going to be attending the US premiere of Ponyo, and he’ll be doing a Q&A here in LA with John Lasseter. That event is on the 28th, so I figured Miyazaki hitting Comic Con was all but guaranteed.
I saw Ponyo tonight; I think it might be Miyazaki’s youngest skewing film, or at least the youngest skewing since Totoro. It’s definitely his weirdest film, which is saying something. The hardcore fans will be pleased, but I’m curious as to how the older mainstream audience will react.
Ponyo opens August 14th.