©Courtesy of Studio Chizu

The Academy Award-nominated Japanese director Mamoru Hosoda‘s new animated feature Scarlet is being co-produced and co-financed by Sony Pictures, Studio CHIZU, and Nippon TV. Sony Pictures will distribute the film globally, and a theatrical release in the U.S. is set for winter 2025.

The animation studio co-founded by Hosoda and producer Yuichiro Saito in 2011 is the first time Sony Pictures has collaborated with Studio CHIZU. Studio CHIZU’s Saito, Toshimi Tanio, and Nozomu Takahashi are all part of the film’s production team.

Hosoda’s journey in animation began at Toei Animation in 1991. After directing Digimon Adventure (1999) and its sequel Digimon Adventure: Our War Game! (2000), he gained widespread recognition with The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006). The film captured the inaugural Japan Academy Prize for Best Animation and launched a string of successful features including Summer Wars(2009), which earned him an Annie Award nomination for Best Director and screened at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Hosoda has developed his creative vision through Studio CHIZU, releasing Wolf Children (2012), The Boy and the Beast(2015), and Mirai(2018), which was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the Oscars. Studio CHIZU, established in April 2011, is dedicated to the development and production of animated films, with a stated objective of exploring new creative territories in animation.

Even though the story isn’t disclosed yet, Scarlett is a princess of a certain country, and the fact that she carries a sword at her waist may give the film a fantasy worldview, which is unusual for a film directed by Hosoda. The official Sony Pictures website states, “19 years have passed since “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. The birth of a strong princess who transcends time and space”, it seems that the story will be related to time and space like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.