Though many Evangelion fans may have been disappointed at the announcement of a ‘final’ film back in 2021, hope has potentially been reignited. At the Hideaki Anno Exhibition in Nagoya this year, Anno mentioned in an interview with Asahi Shinbun that though he is “exhausted” and plans to “take a break from directing for a while,” “there may be plans” for more in the Evangelion franchise but perhaps with someone else taking the lead.

The most recent and final film release for the series had been Evangelion: 3.0+1.01: Thrice Upon a Time back in 2021 in Japan, with a US premiere in late 2022. The most recent screening in U.S. theatres in the series was The End of Evangelion, which was an alternate ending to the series originally released in 1997.