Hideaki Anno stated that he's already working the fourth and final chapter of the Rebuild of Evangelion series. The master director behind the original Neon Evangelion series and Nadia: The Secret of the Blue Water confirmed his latest EVA project at the screening of Shin Godzilla film at the TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku theater last week.
The fourth Rebuild of Evangelion movie was originally slated for release in 2015, but was pushed back due to Anno's involvement in the making of Shin Godzilla, which he co-directed with another popular director Shinji Higuchi.
Anno, who earlier apologized to Evangelion fans for the delay, assured them that he's working hard to finish the film.
"I'll work hard on it. As a matter of fact, I'm already working hard on it," Anno said when asked if the Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0 is already in the pipeline via Anime News Network.
There's a reason behind the massive anticipation of the final Rebuild of Evangelion film.
First, it serves as the culmination of the three critically-acclaimed Rebuild of EVA movies, which garnered a summed amount of $119 million in gross revenue (Japan only). The last film, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, gained $61 million when it hit the silver screen four years ago.
Another reason why Evangelion fans, especially the hardcore one, just can't wait to see the final chapter is to find the conclusion of the question whether the entire Rebuild of EVA series is a reboot or the sequel to the original series.
If Anno is true to his words, the fourth Rebuild of Evangelion could be penciled for release within the first half of 2017, likely during the spring season.
Meanwhile, Shin Godzilla (Godzilla Resurgence) has already racked up 6.56 billion yen (about US$64.30 million) and sold around 4.5 million tickets to become the highest-grossing live action film in 2016. It already surpassed the revenue set by Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo and expected to end its run with 7.5 million yen.