Breathtaking Mirai trailer teases eye-popping journey of time-traveling siblings

Suspended between past, present, and future in Mamoru Hosoda’s Mirai is a sibling bond that traverses space and time, and EW’s exclusive trailer for the stunning feature teases a spectacular visual style that brings the film’s tale of familial love even further into the fantastical realm.

Joining a recent wave of imaginative Japanese epics with an enchanted theme — including Makoto Shinkai’s global smash Your Name and Akiyuki Shimb?’s Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or The Bottom? — Mirai follows a 4-year-old boy, Kun, whose world turns upside-down after the birth of his baby sister (and the film’s namesake character).

No longer the center of attention within his close-knit clan, Kun grows jealous of the affections his family shows for the baby and storms off into a mysterious garden that transports him through various stages of life. Along the journey, Kun meets an older, teenage version of his sister who reaches out to him from the future with mysterious intentions.

“But how can I get home?” Kun asks his sister in the preview as he navigates his way back along a path that features breathtaking sequences involving flying fish, soaring humans, high-speed rail rides, and a peculiar train conductor drawn in a strange visual style contrasted with the rest of the film’s aesthetic.

An official selection among the prestigious Directors’ Fortnight program held parallel to the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, Mirai earned unanimous critical praise from film journalists. The film — billed as the “capstone” entry in Hosoda’s career — marks yet another well-received offering from the 51-year-old Japan native, who previously worked on international hits like 2000’s Digimon: The Movie and regional standouts like Wolf Children (2012) and The Boy and the Beast (2015) in recent years.