Stage production of 'Spirited Away' in the works

Feb. 26 (UPI) -- A stage play based on Hayao Miyazaki's 2001 cartoon classic, Spirited Away, is slated to premiere in Tokyo in February 2022.

John Caird -- whose credits include Nicholas Nickelby, Daddy Long Legs and Les Miserables -- is writing and will direct the theatrical version of Spirited Away, which is titled Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi in Japanese.

"I feel so excited and privileged to be working on the first ever stage adaptation of Sen to Chihiro," Caird said in a statement. "I have for many years now regarded Miyazaki Hayao as one of the pre-eminent geniuses of world cinema and the greatest ever proponent of the anime form."

After it debuts at the Imperial Theatre, it is expected to tour Japan throughout the spring and summer,

The Toho-produced project has the blessing of Miyazaki's company, Studio Ghibli.

"We, Hayao and I, both liked John's vision; he is a person we can trust," said Miyazaki's longtime producing partner Toshio Suzuki. "I am looking forward to seeing Chihiro grow on stage under his direction."

Assassination Classroom star Kanna Hashimoto and Your Name voice actress Mone Kamishiraishi will take turns playing the heroine Chihiro, a young girl who moves with her family to a magical new place where a sorceress turns her parents into pigs.

The film version of Spirited Away won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.