Japanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda has been keeping busy. After competing in Cannes this year with his acclaimed Korean feature Broker and recently wrapping his first series for Netflix, The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko Housei, the director revealed in Tokyo Friday that he’s already shot his next Japanese film, titled Monster.
Currently in post-production, Monster will release in Japan on June 2, 2023. The release date sets the film up for a potential world premiere in May at Cannes, where Kore-eda is a regular.
Monster will be the first movie directed by Kore-eda that he didn’t also write himself. Monster (titled Kaibutsu in Japanese) is scripted by Yuji Sakamoto, the writer of such Japanese series hits, Mother, Woman and Matrimonial Chaos.
The movie also is Kore-eda’s first Japanese film since he won the Cannes Palme d’Or in 2018 with Shoplifters. It follows the director’s French film The Truth, which opened the Venice Film Festival in 2019 and his Korean title Broker, released earlier this year.
Prolific writer-director Genki Kawamura, whose directorial effort A Hundred Flowers recently won best director at the San Sebastián festival, is attached to Monster as its lead producer. Also a best-selling author, Kawamura is known for producing Japanese dramas, such as Confessions and Villain, as well as anime megahits like Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name and Suzume. Monster will mark the second time he has teamed with Kore-eda, having recently produced the auteur’s forthcoming first Netflix series, The Makanai, which is due for release early next year.
Cast and story details for Monster are being kept under wraps. Tokyo-based studios Gaga and Toho will co-release the film in Japan.
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