Finally, a trailer for Miyazaki’s final Ghibli movie

After the announcement of Hayao Miyazaki's final Ghibli production, The Boy and the Heron, fans have been eagerly waiting for a snippet of what's to come. Very little has been released thus far, but finally, a little light has been shed on this mysterious movie, as a teaser for the official trailer was recently released.

While it doesn't give us a lot of visual clues, it cements that Studio Ghibli certainly knows how to build the tension for eager fans and we're already excited for what's to come. (If you're feeling inspired by Ghibli's gorgeous art style, check out this guide on how to draw an anime character using Procreate).

Released on YouTube, the short trailer (above) features a black screen with plain white text, offering a brief synopsis of the upcoming feature. "A young boy named Mahito, yearning for his mother, ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead," the teaser reads. "There, death comes to an end, and life finds a new beginning."

Unfortunately, this sparse (and rather unrevelatory) trailer doesn't feature any scenes from the upcoming film, but it ends with a hopeful promise. According to GKIDS, the US distributor for the upcoming movie, the "first look teaser" will be released on 6 September. It will be the first official English-language trailer, and in fact, the first official trailer ever, as the movie debuted in Japan without any sort of promotional campaign.

As Miyazaki's final film for Ghibli, it seems that it's going to be a beautiful finale for the director, which will be, "a semi-autobiographical fantasy about life, death, and creation". Alongside the teaser's beautiful piano-based score, it's got us feeling a little emotional for the director's final piece.

The teaser's parting message reads, "In tribute to friendship" – a beautiful end to Miyazaki's long relationship with Ghibli. As the mastermind behind beloved movies such as My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, the director has already secured himself as an icon in beautifully crafted animation, and we're sure the upcoming film will be another instant classic.

While there were rumours of an upcoming Ghibli movie in the works, the film was released to Japanese audiences out of the blue, taking fans by surprise. Since its release, it's been all been rather quiet, with no confirmation as to when the film would make its English dubbed debut.

While I suppose this means we should be grateful that we're getting a trailer at all, we can't wait to have a proper peek at this movie beyond the screenshots that have been circulating the internet. The film is set to release later this year, so we've got our fingers crossed that the official trailer will give us a confirmed release date to mark on our calendars.

If you're excited about the upcoming release, check out these stunning shots from the final Miyazaki movie and if you're looking for the perfect outfit to wear to the cinema, take a look at the Uniqlo x Studio Ghibli collab.