Perhaps Neon Genesis Evangelion is the gift that keeps on giving, or maybe it’s just another moneymaking franchise that refuses to go away. In any case, the series is coming back with a new anime, and this time Hideaki Anno won’t be writing the script. His substitute, however, is perhaps the only possible choice that won’t make franchise fans riot.
Yoko Taro, the man in a creepy mask behind the popular Nier franchise — which might also have a sequel on the way — will be penning a brand-new Evangelion anime, as announced during the 30th anniversary event held in Yokohama on Feb. 23. Kazuya Tsurumaki, a franchise veteran who directed the Rebuild films and the excellent recent Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX anime, will direct the new series. Yoko Taro will also be bringing along composer Keiichi Okabe from the Nier franchise.
This is surely great news for fans of Evangelion, but no further details have been revealed at the moment. One of the biggest questions to be answered is how this new entry will connect to the rest of the franchise. Any Evangelion ending is pretty definitive, no matter if it’s the beautiful, low-budget clapping scene from the original anime, the disturbing strangling at the end of the first movies, or the feel-good wrap-up of the Rebirth series. They don’t leave room for sequels, which is why the franchise has relied on reboots to keep going until now.
One thing is for sure: the choice of Yoko Taro is excellent. If there’s one creator known for a bizarre, evocative, and eerie take on science fiction, it is the creator of the Nier franchise, which explores themes of identity and conflict that will sound very familiar to Evangelion fans.
The new anime series will be produced by Studio Khara and Cloverworks. Considering the lack of details, the show is likely still at a conceptual stage, but hopefully more information will be revealed soon.
