Eyebrows have been raised as a new fan concept trailer sees MCU star Zendaya take on Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke in live-action.
Originally released in 1997, Princess Mononoke has become a favorite among fans of the renowned Japanese animation house. The animated original film follows a young woman named Ashitaka as she seeks to keep her forest safe from the impending threat of humans looking to exploit its resources.
The film has been heralded as one of the great animated works, earning praise for its unflinching commentary on rampant industrialization and the potential threat humanity poses to the very Earth it calls home.
Zendaya Takes One Studio Ghibli In Fan Trailer
A new fan-made concept trailer has been making the rounds online, teasing Zendaya starring in a potential live-action remake of Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke.
The trailer itself first appeared on YouTube before quickly popping up in various fan communities on platforms like Facebook and Reddit.
The video even comes with some convincing-looking visuals that see Zendaya in the film's leading role of Ashitaka and riding the movie's iconic wolf spirit Moro. There are also glimpses at other memorable bits of iconography from the original film (i.e., the Kodama tree spirits and the terrifying Night Walker).
While the trailer may fool some, it is nothing more than a fan-made creation and (judging from its ultra-smooth, slow-moving visuals) looks to have been conceived from a generative AI video model.
This is not the first time a fan concept like this has gone viral within the Studio Ghibli fan community. Recently, a fan-made poster for a new movie from the anime studio titled The Last Guardian of the Wind cropped up online before being debunked as fake.
It is also not the first supposed live-action remake from the studio, with a similarly fake trailer for a live-action Spirited Away getting fans' hopes up earlier this year.
What Is Next for Studio Ghibli?
While the Princess Mononoke live-action project seems to be a fake (despite how ever badly fans would want to see Zendaya in such a role), that does not mean Studio Ghibli has nothing in the works.
In recent years, the studio has started to dip its toe into licensing its works out for live-action, with an ongoing Spirited Away stage play adaptation currently on tour around the world.
However, the studio remains seemingly at ease, only releasing animated fare on the big screen, with no public plans to allow for any live-action versions of their films to be developed.
The studio itself just came off the supposed final film from visionary director Hayao Miyazaki, The Boy and the Heron, in late 2023 (read about The Boy and the Heron's mind-bending plot here).
Since The Boy and the Heron only just came out, it will likely be quite some time before fans hear about what is next for the studio.
While The Boy and the Heron was supposedly Miyazaki's last project before retirement, he has since perhaps changed his tune a tad.
Ghibli executive Junichi Nishioka told Liberation (via IGN) in the lead-up to that film's release, "He is currently working on ideas for a new film," meaning fans may get one more out of the ground-breaking director after all:
“Other people say that this might be his last film, but he doesn't feel that way at all. He is currently working on ideas for a new film. He comes into his office every day and does that. This time, he's not going to announce his retirement at all. He's continuing working just as he has always done."
That project, however, is still several years away and, unless she is a part of the English dub cast, it likely has nothing to do with Zendaya.
The Boy and the Heron is now streaming on Max.
