Theory: 2.22 Next Time Preview wasn't a lie.

[IronEvangelion]

Hi guys, I just got done watching 1.11, 2.22, and 3.33 back to back, and I noticed a lot of things that I never saw before. One of these is how there's nothing in 3.33 that contradicts the next time preview at the end of 2.22. I know it's generally accepted that the preview in question was all a lie to troll the fanbase and never actually happened, but creating an entire preview just to troll the fans is a lot of effort and money basically wasted. My theory is that it actually did happen, it just happened in between 2.22 and 3.33. And the purpose of it being there was not to troll the fans, but to give a brief synopsis of what happened in between the two and how the whole NERV schism which gave birth to WILLE began, as well as the origins of Unit 08. It wasn't a preview of 3.33, it was a summary of the events leading up to it. That's what I believe anyhow.

[Reichu]

Eva-08 in 3.0 is just a mass production unit and nothing terribly special. What we're shown in the preview is something clearly different. Between the halo, it being described as "quickening", and the cockpit covers on the shoulders, we can probably assume that preview!Eva-08 eventually became Q!Eva-13.

I'm not sure in what quarters it's "generally accepted" that the 2.22 Next Time Preview was a "lie" or a "troll attempt", when the most parsimonious explanation is that it was thrown together from the ideas the team had at the time. After years of development, things changed. Nothing weird about that.

[IronEvangelion]

Eva-08 in 3.0 is just a mass production unit and nothing terribly special. What we're shown in the preview is something clearly different. Between the halo, it being described as "quickening", and the cockpit covers on the shoulders, we can probably assume that preview!Eva-08 eventually became Q!Eva-13.

Unit 08 doesn't exactly seem like a MP unit, the head and arms are completely different. Also in the English dub the lines were changed to, "Unit 08 is given a pilot (singular) and brought to life." No mention is made of a quickening, although the halo is still present. What we see in the preview may be 08's original appearance, which could have been altered before 3.33 due to damage sustained stopping whatever the hell went down in Lilith's chamber. Radical changes to an eva's physical appearance are pretty common in NTE. The preview as well as the state of Lilith's chamber in 3.33 makes it clear that there was at least one more attempt an an impact carried out by Mark. 06, and Unit 08 could have been sortied to stop it.

[Reichu]

Unit 08 doesn't exactly seem like a MP unit, the head and arms are completely different.

I meant "production model". It's clearly labeled as such in the 3.0 blu-ray booklet.

Also in the English dub the lines were changed to, "Unit 08 is given a pilot (singular) and brought to life." No mention is made of a quickening, although the halo is still present.

The dub providing a botched translation proves... precisely nothing. The original Japanese says that the Eva is "quickening" and is ambiguous about the number of pilots. You can also see that there is one entry plug hatch cover on each shoulder -- remind you of anyone?

[Sachi]

This has been a pet theory of mine ever since Q first came out. The only thing that really puts a hitch in it is that bit about Unit-08 and quickening. Other than that, my headcanon tells me that Gendo, Fuyu and the donkey really happened.

[Bagheera]

General consensus seems to be that there's no reason to assume the bits of the preview that aren't explicitly contradicted by Q didn't happen. Kinda like the manga and NGE, really.

[robersora]

I think it has been a genius move to ditch the very thing that backed the crew into a corner after 1.11. Anno said, the previews were only meant as an easter egg anyways, and he didn't think Mari would make such a splash, limiting the ways 2.22 could play out greatly, which was at that point still in the writing stage. So in a very interesting way the not retconning, but not addressing of the preview after Ha was the best they could do to say, "hey, don't take the preview seriously, we are making it up, as we go along - like we did with NGE".

[Gendo'sPapa]

There's no conspiracy or deeper meaning.

The teaser at the end of 2.22 is just a few ideas & images Anno expected they would be covering in the third film. Pretty much nothing the original teaser reveals is out there or couldn't be anticipated from the end of 2.22... aside from Gendo and the Donkey which is just out there.

1. Eva Unit 01 immobilized with Rei & Shinji inside - If the story immediately follows 2.22 of course they'll be inside. Check
2. Tokyo-3 in ruins - The city won't rebuild itself. Check
3. NERV Personnel Imprisoned - Makes sense if Seele becomes more involved. Check.
4. Eva Unit 06 going down into Central Dogma - That's basically what Kaworu did with Unit 2 in the TV show. Check.
5. Eva Unit 08 & it's Pilot - New Evas. They promised that. Gotta have a new Eva in each film. Check.
6. The Children assemble - Makes sense there'd be a scene where the pilots are all together. Check.
7. Misato Upset - Bound to happen. Check
8. Kaji with a Gun - Why not. Check.
9. Gendo, Fuyustuki & a Donkey - Um.... Anno just watched Lawrence of Arabia? Check?
10. Reveal of Rei Clones - Check.
11. Naked Mari meeting Rei - Seems like a good scene. Check.
12. Return of Asuka. Check.

They clearly didn't have a final script when 2.22 hit theaters cause if they did 3.0 would have hit theaters in late 2010 or early 2011. Most likely Anno's original idea of what 3.0 was going to cover was much closer to what the teaser hinted at. Probably it was a narrative that immediately followed the ending of 2.22 with little to no time skip. A more direct sequel so to speak.
Then, because film is not TV, he had significant downtime - probably around a year - between the end of Film 2 and the start of production on Film 3 that he restructured and changed what his original ideas for the film would be. He changed the story to further distance the films from just being a remake of the original Eva.


I mean people can believe whatever they want & I think the idea of the teaser being a glimpse into what happened between films is cute. And in a way, since this is a fictional universe with no real history that idea is true. But, I don't think the teaser was made to troll viewers - despite the petty views of internet junkies professional filmmakers don't troll - nor do I think the teaser was made to trick people.
I think the teasers are just a foolish mistake the team put into the first film to homage the TV series and that they've been stuck with that mistake ever since. I wouldn't be surprised if while working on the first film Anno & Khara began to feel these films would be more of a quickie project. If they stick close to the TV story then they've already got 80% of the writing down. They probably anticipated they'd be knocking out the films at the rate of one a year in which case it's pretty easy to guess what you'll be covering in the next film down the line.
Then things changed. New ideas naturally entered into discussion. The crew wanted to do more then just do a trace job of the original series. Anno wanted to deviate further from the original source material. Whatever it was, the original sketch of what 3.0 would be was a LOT different then what it finally became.

The teasers are just silly.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the final movie doesn't even end up having a Unit 08+02 or Mass Produced Evas.

[Arcadia's legacy]

Um.........what about those hanging arms and conveyor belt of Eva weapons that we see in Neo-Nerv HQ?

[ChaddyManPrime]

The preview was just there for plausible deniability.

[TheFriskyIan]

The NTP for the last few episodes of NGE could stir up similar controversy. It's silly to say the NTP for Ha means nothing when it not only is still in all versions of the film available to the public and the fact that we're dealing with Eva. If you want me to believe that an individual is going to watch NTE with no prior knowledge of NGE and see all three current movies from start to finish and go "Whelp, I guess the end of 2.0 was a lie." then you are going to need some pretty substantial sources from the creators themselves to prove that's the way it's supposed to be. No, it's not important for how Shinji's story plays out because let's face it, NTE is all about Shinji. But leaving it there without updating future home video releases of 2.22 isn't an oversight. The whole point of differences between 2.0 and 2.22 is fixing the mistakes, which if we're subscribing to the NTP being a waste theory, doesn't make sense. Khara are experts with years of experience, they're not some run off the mill studio with mediocre novices, they know what they're doing and they wouldn't forget about the NTP being there like that.

Is the NTP important for the general direction of where NTE is heading? Probably not. Is it absolutely meaningless and has no basis for discussion as far as the more complicated lore aspects? Absolutely not.

[robersora]

^
I don't know for the American and Japanese releases, but the NTPs have only appeared as bonus material on the German DVDs. They have been labeled as a Teaser.
They didn't even bother to dub the NTP for Shin Eva.

[TheFriskyIan]

^
I don't know for the American and Japanese releases, but the NTPs have only appeared as bonus material on the German DVDs. They have been labeled as a Teaser.
They didn't even bother to dub the NTP for Shin Eva.

They appear at the end of the actual film in both the Japanese and US releases. They're not considered teasers in the menus and are an actual chapter for the film right before the end copyright. There is a teaser trailer in the 1.11 release but that's the Fly Me To The Moon trailer for 2.0.

[Arcadia's legacy]

There is a teaser trailer in the 1.11 release but that's the Fly Me To The Moon trailer for 2.0.

Wait, that's a thing?

[Dima]

First time i hear that the 2.22 preview was a lie and a troll attempt form Anno/Khara.

Aside that, almost everyone speculated/thought that the events of 2.22 happened at some point between Ha and Q.

[TheFriskyIan]

Wait, that's a thing?

I believe it was one of the additional features along with the animation adjustments that differentiated 1.01 from 1.11, I can't confirm if the teaser is in 1.01 as I no longer have a copy of 1.01 (for now).

[IronEvangelion]

But leaving it there without updating future home video releases of 2.22 isn't an oversight. The whole point of differences between 2.0 and 2.22 is fixing the mistakes, which if we're subscribing to the NTP being a waste theory, doesn't make sense. Khara are experts with years of experience, they're not some run off the mill studio with mediocre novices, they know what they're doing and they wouldn't forget about the NTP being there like that.

That was the biggest question mark for me. If it's non-canon now, why hasn't it been removed from current production runs to clear things up? I'll admit that the part with Unit 08 is probably the biggest stretch in the entire thing, and if it was dual-entry they would have had to convert it to single-entry by 3.33, which seems like it would be a major undertaking for a group like WILLE. But then again, 3.33 gave us Unit 13- an eva that doesn't have an AT Field (which should be physically impossible in the Eva universe), as well as full-body cores and a cyborg Unit 02 that tranforms into a panthergelion (which can morph its own armor to cover its newly-grown tail). In that light, converting a dual-entry eva to single-entry doesn't seem that improbable.

[Reichu]

I get the feeling that if the previews had been ripped out of the Blu-Ray theatrical films, people would just be taking the tired George Lucas comparisons to the next level. They're part of the original films. There are contradictions. And it's totally okay, because there's a very simple explanation for them that requires zero amounts of fanwanking.

I mean, if we're going to go to convoluted lengths to canonize preview!Eva-08, might as well write up a conspiracy theory explaining, to start with, how Asuka was actually at the 10th Angel battle. The preview showed she was there, and as we know the previews are showcasing a finished product. Oh, wait, they're not.

[Gendo'sPapa]

I'd be willing to put money down that at some point after all four Rebuild films have been released on home video there will be a "Evangelion Theatrical Edition Complete" release - what fun number could they do? 1.5? 1.111?" - Bluray boxset that's loaded with special effects and all new post credit teasers.

[TheFriskyIan]

I get the feeling that if the previews had been ripped out of the Blu-Ray theatrical films, people would just be taking the tired George Lucas comparisons to the next level.

I doubt this. People are angry at Lucas because the edits he made took away something that had a point being there (Han shooting first in IV, Vader staying silent near the end of VI). If you're removing something that doesn't have a point being there with something that does, that would be a completely different scenario (Also if what you say is true than I want the theatrical X.0 cuts of the movie on BD). I simply don't feel like you're giving the viewers enough credit. No, we don't have a finished project and I agree that Anno probably just had a sheet of paper at the end of 2.0 with notes on which direction the story is heading, but I doubt the only thing on that piece of paper was "Kaworu dies/Shinji suffers more."