‘Your Name’ live-action: Hollywood remake gets a new director, production continues with producer from original film

It has been more than four years since the Japanese anime film “Kimi no Na wa,” or “Your Name,” became a worldwide hit. The film’s popularity continues as evidence by a live-action remake currently in development in Hollywood.

‘Your Name’ goes to Hollywood

Fans are, understandably, often wary about Japanese manga or anime materials being produced in Hollywood. However, the studios and people attached to the live-action remake of “Your Name” seem to be going taking the right direction by involving those who helped craft the original Japanese anime film in 2016.

Deadline recently reported that acclaimed director and screenwriter Lee Isaac Chung has been brought in to “rewrite” the live-action “Your Name.” Chung will also helm the movie that will be produced by Bad Robot and Paramount, in partnership with Toho. Genki Kawamura, who was a producer for the original film, will also co-produce the title’s Hollywood counterpart.

‘Your Name’: What are the major plot changes in the remake?

The Hollywood project was first announced in 2017 after Eric Heisserer confirmed /FILM that the live-action adaptation of “Your Name” was one of the things he was working on at the time. Heisserer also revealed that the rights holder of the original film posed a challenge for him: “You have to find the best iteration of that story based on the fact that they want an American live-action version of the film.”

Before Chung was signed to direct the live-action “Your Name,” the job was first given to Marc Webb. Collider reported in 2019 that the script, following the plan to give it a Western spin, will revolve around a Native American woman living in a rural area and a man from Chicago. Like in the original film, they will later realize their spiritual connection after several instances that of waking up on the other person’s body. Central to the plot will also be a disaster that they will try to avoid in an alternate timeline.

The original film, written and directed by Makoto Shinkai, told the story of Mitsuha and Taki who, respectively, lived in the rural town of Itomori and Tokyo. They later realize they are from different parallels of time as Mitsuha was one of the casualties when a meteorite struck Itomori and Taki comes from a timeline where Mitsuha is already dead.

Given that Chung is reportedly going to “rewrite” the first script made for the Hollywood version of “Your Name,” it is unknown how much of the earlier reported synopsis will be retained or changed. A release window has not been mentioned yet in any of the reports or if Shinkai will be involved in its development in any capacity.