Evangelion Shin Gekijou Ban
By The Eva Monkey on Friday, September 8th, 2006
The rumors have been flying these past few weeks, and I have to say that it is a very exciting time right now to be in my position to update and inform the Evangelion community. It is no longer rumor. Hideaki Anno, and others from Studio Gainax who were responsible for creating Evangelion in 1995 are creating new Evangelion after more than a decade. The new project is called Evangelion Shin Gekijou Ban, or “Evangelion New Theatrical Version”.
This information comes from the September issue of NewType Japan, which was leaked prior to its weekend release. Fan translation has revealed that the project’s general supervisor is Hideaki Anno, who you know as the original Evangelion’s creator, writer, director, and more. Directing will be Kazuya Tsurumaki, who served as assistant director to Anno on the original production. Also returning are Yoshiyuki Sadamoto as character designer, and Ikuto Yamashita as mecha designer.
As for the series’ content, it is somewhat vague and speculative at this point. Before, it was suggested that the first three films would be edited from the original series, and the fourth would be new. But now it has been described as not a continuation, not a remake, but a new story. One does not need to have seen Evangelion before, but there is still new substance for the old fans. It has also been stated as being free of incomprehensible dialogue and plot. It has been suggested as including new locations and characters, but we won’t know just yet. When this will begin hitting theaters is somewhat unclear, as I’ve heard both Summer 2007 and Spring 2008 for the first part. We’ll just have to wait for details to solidify in the future.
Personally, I have to say that I am excited about seeing this. My sincere hope is that this production has been born from Anno’s reflections on his work over the last decade. He has had all this time to think about what an ideal re-envisionment of Evangelion would be, and now he is creating it. I have high hopes, and I believe this will be something great.