Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke getting live-action kabuki adaptation, main cast announced

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Hayao Miyazaki’s darkest anime film will be his second to become a kabuki play.

It seems like just yesterday we were talking about the upcoming Evangleion kabuki play. Ah, wait, it literally was yesterday. And yet, there’s already another gigantic development in the anime-to-kabuki adaptation world, with the announcement of a kabuki version of Studio Ghibli and director Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke.

Originally released in the summer of 1997, Princess Mononoke was originally intended to be Miyazaki’s final film, and for nearly 20 years held the title of the highest domestically grossing Japanese film. While Miyazaki eventually changed his mind about retiring, Princess Mononoke remains a unique work within the Studio Ghibli anime library. It’s by far the grittiest, darkest, and most violent anime that Ghibli has ever produced, yet not without the studio’s trademark sense of tempered hope and optimism.

▼ Poster for the Princess Mononoke kabuki play

As a story full of strong emotions and high drama that’s set in Japan, Princess Mononoke feels especially suited to a kabuki adaptation, at least in terms of tone and costuming. It is, however, also an anime with multiple characters who are giant talking animals, and one in which the lush, almost enveloping natural environment is practically a character unto itself, so the cast and crew have some challenges waiting for them as well.

Two cast members have already been revealed, with 21-year-old Dango Ichikawa tapped to portray male-lead Ashitaka and 35-year-old Kazutaro Nakamura stepping into the role of monster princess San.

▼ Dango Ichikawa (left) and Kazutaro Nakamura (right)

▼ Ashitaka (left) and San (right)

Penning the script for the Princess Mononoke kabuki play will be the two-person team of Keiko Niwa and Kazuhisa Tobe, who also collaborated on the script for the kabuki adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind back in 2019. Niwa is actually the screenwriter for a number of Ghibli anime: Arrietty. From Up on Poppy Hill, When Marnie Was There, Tales from Earthsea, Ocean Waves, and Earwig and the Witch. Tobe, incidentally, is also writing the Evangelion kabuki play. Serving as director will be Yokoichi Kensuke, helming an anime-to-kabuki project for the second time following his direction of the One Piece kabuki play.

As for the anime’s director, it’s unlikely that Hayao Miyazaki will be involved in any direct, or even indirect, capacity, aside from quietly giving the adaptation his blessing. When Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind was greenlit for a kabuki adaptation, it came with two firm conditions from Miyazaki: the title could not be changed, and he would do nothing to assist the production, nor would he be involved in any media promotions for it. Miyazaki is still listed as the work’s original creator in the credits for the kabuki play, however, as is anime composer Jo Hisaishi for the original score, with Studio Ghibli credited for “cooperation.”

The Princess Mononoke play will be performed at the Shinbashi Enbujo Theater in downtown Tokyo in July and August of 2026, with exact dates and ticket details yet to be announced.

Source: Shochiku
Top image: Studio Ghibli
Insert images: Shochiku, Studio Ghibli
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