The Boy and the Heron currently remains one of the most mysterious anime films Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli have ever produced. At least, here in the North American region, it is. Not so in its home nation of Japan, where this anime film had its theatrical debut on July 14, 2023. Fortunately, though, GKIDS plans to do something about that. Starting by telling us who will be voicing who in the English dub. In fact, Star Wars fans might recognize a certain voice actor among that cast who once upon a time played a farmboy destined for greater things in a galaxy far, far away.

The Boy and the Heron English Dub: Details

The Boy and the Heron NA theatrical poster.
I wonder what those derpy white blobs will sound like in English?

GKIDS is proud to announce the English dub cast for The Boy and the Heron (formerly How Do You Live?). Yes, that’s right. When this latest anime film from Hayao Miyazaki (apparently his final one to boot) and Studio Ghibli (Castle in the Sky, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away) hits NA theaters on December 8, 2023; it will be in English dub. Also in the original Japanese audio with English subtitles for the purists like me, but your mileage may vary on that version.

Alas, tickets for The Boy and the Heron are not yet on sale as of this writing. You can find them on Fandango whenever they do go on sale, so that’s something. Check back with them when the theatrical debut date nears to pre-purchase those tickets.

But that’s enough out of me for now. If you want to see the full English dub cast for The Boy and the Heron, then check that out below:

The Boy and the Heron English Dub Cast

  • Christian Bale (Ford v Ferrari, Amsterdam, The Pale Blue Eye) as Shoichi Maki
  • Dave Bautista (Dune, Guardians of the Galaxy) as The Parakeet King
  • Gemma Chan (The Creator, Eternals, Crazy Rich Asians) as Natsuko
  • Willem Dafoe (At Eternity’s Gate, The Florida Project) as Noble Pelican
  • Karen Fukuhara (The Boys, Suicide Squad) as Lady Himi
  • Mark Hamill (Star Wars, The Machine, House of Usher) as Granduncle
  • Robert Pattinson (The Batman, Tenet, upcoming Mickey 17) as The Gray Heron
  • Florence Pugh (Oppenheimer, Black Widow, Little Women) as Kiriko