Carlos López Estrada, the director of Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon and Blindspotting, has been hired by J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot to helm the live-action remake of the hit anime film Your Name. Estrada is the third director that the project has had in three years. Other directors that have been attached include Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man) and Lee Isaac Chung (Minar).
López Estrada is currently writing the script, which was previously worked on by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Eric Heisserer, who is best known for his work on Arrival and Bird Box. J.J. Abrams will produce the film alongside Hannah Minghella and Jon Cohen, with Genki Kawamura, who produced the original.“
The original story follows two teenagers named Mitsuha and Taki who are complete strangers living separate lives until they suddenly switch places. “Mitsuha wakes up in Taki’s body, and he in hers. This occurrence happens randomly, and they must adjust their lives around each other. Yet, somehow, it works. They build a connection by leaving notes for one another until they wish to finally meet. But something stronger than distance may keep them apart.”
This reimagined version of the film is said to focus on a “young Native American woman living in a rural area and a young man from Chicago discover they are magically and intermittently swapping bodies. When a disaster threatens to upend their lives, they must journey to meet and save their worlds.”
Your Name was a massive hit in Japan it was such a beautiful film and story. I hope that this live-action remake will be able to capture the spirit and magic of that original film, but that’s gonna be hard to pull off.
Toho will handle the distribution of the film in Japan and Paramount Pictures will release the picture in the U.S. and all other international territories.
López Estrada is currently developing an animated feature documentary set to be released in 2023, as well as the live-action adaptation of Disney’s animated classic Robin Hood.
Source: Variety