Earlier this week, famed Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli posted a cryptic social media video with its and Lucasfilm’s logos, and this morning I have all the details of what it means.
The First Hint
Thursday, November 10, Studio Ghibli posted a strange 15 second video that showed nothing but its logo and Lucasfilm’s logo:
To which the official Star Wars account responded with nothing more than a retweet of the Studio Ghibli post.
A short while later, Studio Ghibli posted a cryptic photo that shows a model of Grogu from “The Mandalorian” on a table with a blurred image of studio co-founder Hayao Miyazaki in the background:
This time the Star Wars account responded with a retweet and an emoji:
Then both accounts stopped the posting until late last night (November 11), when all was revealed.
What Does It All Mean?
It turns out the tweets were leading to the announcement of a collaboration between the two, called “Zen – Grogu and Dust Bunnies.”
“Zen – Grogu and Dust Bunnies” is an original, animated three-minute short directed by Studio Ghibli’s Katsuya Kondo, and starring both Grogu and “My Neighbor Totoro” character Makukuro Kurosuke (the black circle with legs in the photo up top).
The short film is being described as “a cute short movie about friendship between Japan and the United States.”
The hand-drawn piece will also feature music by Oscar- and Emmy-winning composer, Ludwig Göransson, who most recently penned the score for Marvel’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” and also scores “The Mandalorian.”
When Will It Air?
The good news is this isn’t a long tease for the show, which was created to celebrate the third anniversary of the debut of “The Mandalorian.”
“Zen – Grogu and Dust Bunnies” actually debuts today on Disney+ worldwide, so by the time you read this, it should be available to watch.
I haven’t had the chance to watch it yet, but if you do, let us know what you think in the comments!