Every time I come across a news story like this, I lose a little more respect for KyoAni and Kadokawa.

Many Haruhiists are hotly anticipating the upcoming Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya movie, viewing it as a chance for KyoAni to make amends for the Endless Eight disaster. Recently, director Hosoda Mamoru claimed that he had been asked to direct the Disappearance film. This seems like a match made in heaven... Mamoru has already directed two popular anime films, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars, both of which are very similar in tone to Haruhi. Furthermore, many critics have hailed him as the next Hayao Miyazaki. Doesn't he seem like the perfect choice to revitalize the Haruhi franchise?

Apparently, KyoAni doesn't think so. Mamoru said that, even after he had accepted the offer, the producers decided to scrap him, apparently in favor of their own in-house directors. Meanwhile, Mamoru is already in the planning stages for his next film.

Regardless of how Disapperance turns out, a nagging question will always stick in the back of fans' minds: what if Hosoda Mamoru had directed it instead?

[Via Cartoon Leap]