The lights over Yokohama Arena cut out; a hush swallowed three thousand people. A single slide flashed: “New Evangelion.” I felt the room tilt—like a locked safe suddenly rattling under a master key.
I follow Evangelion the way some people follow storms: close, exacting, a little thrilled by danger. You know the history—1995’s original, the 1997 alternate-ending film, the Rebuild tetralogy and the split between fans and creators—and you also know how high the stakes are when new hands touch this myth.
At Yokohama Arena, a milestone became a headline: New Neon Genesis Evangelion Anime in Development With NieR: Automata’s Yoko Taro at the Helm
At the Evangelion:30+ event (February 21–23, 2026), the franchise announced a fresh full-length anime produced by CloverWorks in partnership with Studio Khara. The name that stopped every conversation was Yoko Taro, credited as the screenplay writer—yes, the same creative mind behind NieR:Automata and the Drakengard series.
The creative roster reads like a gathering of veterans and wildcards. Kazuya Tsurumaki and Toko Yatabe are attached as directors; Keiichi Okabe will handle music. Hideaki Anno premiered a short film at the same event, though its wider release date remains unknown. The studios say production has just begun—so expect silence, leaks, and rumor cycles as the show takes shape.
Onstage, the announcement felt like a checkpoint: why this pairing matters more than you might assume
Seeing Yoko Taro paired with Studio Khara is not a safe bet; it’s a deliberate experiment. You can imagine the tonal friction: Anno’s existential chaos repackaged through Taro’s provocation and CloverWorks’ production values.
This collaboration could act like a fresh current through old wiring—energizing the franchise without erasing what made Evangelion electric. But it also raises practical questions about faithfulness, audience expectation, and whether the new project will echo the original’s emotional architecture or take it somewhere stranger.
Who is writing the new Evangelion anime?
Yoko Taro is the credited screenwriter. His profile includes NieR:Automata (Square Enix), and his storytelling leans toward moral puzzles, unreliable narrators, and tonal left turns. That doesn’t mean this will copy NieR‘s structure, but it signals an intent to test the franchise’s psychological limits.
Which studios are producing the new Evangelion anime?
The production is a collaboration between CloverWorks—known for series that land on global streaming platforms—and Studio Khara, Hideaki Anno’s studio and the steward of Evangelion’s cinematic history. That mix pairs institutional memory with present-day production muscle, and you should expect high visual polish and deliberate creative friction.
When will the new Evangelion anime be released?
The short answer: no date yet. The announcement came during the Evangelion:30+ celebration, and the teams say the project is in production. Historically, projects of this scale gestate for years; plan for a long lead time and intermittent official updates via X/@evangelion_co and studio channels.
A few practical notes I would pass on if you asked: what to watch for and how to read the signals
Watch the credits and music credits closely—Keiichi Okabe’s involvement signals a stylistic throughline to recent anime music trends. Follow the directors’ previous work for tonal clues: Tsurumaki’s roots in the original Evangelion and series like Gurren Lagann matter, and Yatabe’s work on Mob Psycho suggests an appetite for emotional precision.
If you want to track momentum, follow official X posts, studio press releases, and festival circuits. Big reveals now usually travel through streaming partners, anime expos, and curated anime press before they hit global platforms.
I’ve been in this conversation long enough to know that every new Evangelion announcement rewrites a few fan theories and starts a dozen more. You and I will watch how this one balances fidelity to the original with the risk of deliberate provocation—so where do you place your bet on what comes next?