Neon Genesis Evangelion could make another return, according to creator Hideaki Anno, but if it does, he probably won’t be as involved.
Hideaki Anno, the mastermind and director of Evangelion, from the originalanime showthrough to The End of Evangelion and Rebuild, now says another chapter might emerge one day. Speaking to Asahi,he stated“there may be plans” for another installment of Evangelion, though with “someone other than [him]” in the director’s chair.
As such, his creative interests seem to be drifting from not only Evangelion, a franchise he’s been overseeing since the early ’90s, but anime in general. That said, he suggests he’ll be taking a break from filmmaking altogether for the next while, as putting out two blockbusters on the trot really took it out of him.
He adds that he “was physically and mentally exhausted from having to release new works” after the global shutdown. Evangelion is a demanding property, melding mecha and gigantic monsters with heady concepts of spirituality, alternate timelines, and human consciousness. Likewise, the animation has always been on the cutting edge, the later films utilizing CGI with hand-drawn sequences to a degree that was surely time-consuming.
So, his choice to allow someone else take control on Evangelion might be one of self-preservation as much as anything else, as Hideaki carefully picks where to spend his energy next. He’s certainly earned a break, and if Evangelion does come back, it’ll likely be in capable hands.
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Check out our guide toTower of God Season 2andJujutsu Kaisen Season 3for franchise due to return more immediately, and our lists of thebest anime on Crunchyrolland thebest upcoming animehave plenty more viewing options as well.
Anthony McGlynn is a Senior Anime Writer on Dexerto’s UK team. An expert on animes like Demon Slayer, Solo Leveling and My Hero Academia, he also has over 10 years experience covering games and pop culture for outlets such as Variety, IGN, Den of Geek, PCGamesN, PCGamer, The Digital Fix, and many more. You can contact him at: anthony.mcglynn@dexerto.com
