‘Minari’ Director Lee Isaac Chung Tapped to Helm Live-Action ‘Your Name’

Lee Isaac Chung — the director behind Sundance winner Minari — has been tapped to direct Paramount’s live-action adaptation of the popular Japanese anime film Your Name.

The sci-fi-infused love story centers on a teenage boy and girl from different parts of Japan who discover they can swap bodies. They also discover they are separated by time as well as by space, and when an impending disaster threatens one of their towns, they must find a way to meet and stop it from happening.

Chung will handle a rewrite on the screenplay, with prior drafts being filed by Emily V. Gordon and Arrival screenwriter Eric Heisserer.

Abrams will produce via his Bad Robot Productions along with the banner’s Lindsey Weber. Also producing is Genki Kawamura, the producer of the original 2016 film.  Toho Co., which produced the original, will handle the distribution in Japan.

Chung, repped by CAA, wrote and directed the family dramedy Minari for Plan B and A24, debuting at the Park City fest and winning the grand jury and audience awards. His debut film, Munyurangabo, premiered at Cannes.