Composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, “Shoplifter” star Sakura Ando joins Hirokazu Kore-Eda’s “Monster.”

Academy Award-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and Sakura Ando came on board monsterthe new film by Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-Eda.

Produced by Genki Kawamura and Kenji Yamada, the film is in post-production and will hit theaters in Japan on June 2, 2023. Production partners include Toho, Gaga Films, Fuji Television Network, AOI Pro and Bun-Buku.

Other main roles are played by Nagayama Eita, Takahata Mitsuki, Kakuta Akihiro, Nakamura Shido and Tanaka Yuko. Gaga said child actors Soya Kurokawa and Hinataare Hiiragi were also cast after the audition.

monster was written by Yuji Sakamoto (We made a beautiful bouquet of flowers), but the story of the film is being kept secret.

Sakamoto’s credits include composing the music for films including Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), The protective sky (1990) and The revenant (2015). He was the first Japanese winner to feature Best Original Score at the Oscars The Last Emperor 1987

monster will be Sakamoto’s first collaboration with Kore-eda, one of Japan’s most famous directors whose language is Korean Real estate agent premiered in Cannes last year and won the Best Actor award for Song Kang-ho’s performance.

Ando previously played in Kore-edas shoplifterswhich won the Palme d’Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated in the Best International Film category at the Oscars and BAFTAs.

Kore-eda and Kawamura also recently collaborated on a series for Netflix. The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House, which starts streaming next week.