The writer/director of Suzume, Makoto Shinkai, reveals the original all-female plans for his film and why he didn't move forward with the idea.
Shinkai recently spoke with Looper about his latest feature-length project revealing that he originally intended for both the leading characters to be female. "At first, I wanted to turn this story into a movie about Suzume and another girl journeying," said Shinkai, "I wanted to pivot to a more sisterhood type of romantic story." However, his producer shut the idea down before it could get off the ground, stating, "You may be tired of these romantic stories, but your audience loves it."
The acclaimed director -- known for creating projects such as Your Name and Weathering with You -- further discussed why he wanted to go in this direction. "I personally felt a little bit tired of telling the very traditional romance story," said Shinkai. He claimed that he did "everything that I possibly could in terms of "boy meets girl" and "will they, won't they, will they meet." Ultimately, he decided to turn Suzume's main love interest into a chair to avoid making it "too much of a romance" after being told he couldn't complete his original female-centric concept.
Shinkai Wants to Focus on Human Aspect of Stories
While Shinkai's plans for female dual leads did not materialize this time, he did discuss his intentions for his future projects, claiming, "In terms of the LGBTQ commentary, it's not something that I'm actively trying to write or not write." He also addressed that he is less concerned by ideas of gender and sexuality as much as "a human overcoming something" and that he wants to "focus on that human story as opposed to too much commentary on gender or sex."
Suzume was released in Japan in November last year and found critical and financial success, earning even more during its opening weekend than in his previous films. The movie premiered in the U.S. and Europe on April 14, 2023. The film follows the titular young girl as she teams up with a young man, Souta Munakata, to prevent a series of disasters from happening across Japan by traveling throughout the country and closing mysterious doors.
Shinkai's previous projects have all been well-received, with Your Name garnering a particularly notable amount of acclaim, even ranking as the third highest-grossing Japanese movie of all time at the time of writing. Suzume also sits on that list, ranking at number four, with Weathering with You sitting at number nine.
Suzume is currently playing in cinemas, with Your Name available to purchase on most digital services and Weathering with You streaming on HBO Max.
Source: Looper