Eva-01, Eva-08 and Eva-06

[FreakyFilmFan4ever]

Seeing how 2.0 was willing to almost kill of Asuka and remove her from half the narrative- her not driving Unit 02 would be the crew being nice to Asuka.

Also I don't think we'll be getting any new pilot characters.

That would be nice. more time spent developing the character we do have would be a plus for the series.

[Jornophelanthas]

Unit-02 is heavily damaged, but it just needs (major) repairs.

And I expect Unit-02 to be repaired quite early on in 3.0.

You want a reason? Unit-00 is destroyed. Unit-01 is out of commission, possibly for a significant part of the movie. Unit-06 is the only operational Evangelion at this point, and SEELE will want to spare Kaworu if possible. Unit-02 is available and far more expendable than Unit-06.

Asuka can be made available and will be far more expendable than Kaworu. It is currently unsure if anyone inside NERV or SEELE knows that Mari survived the battle between Unit-05 and the Third Angel, until she chooses to reveal herself (which could happen for pretty much any reason). Therefore, SEELE could decide to get Asuka out of suspended animation because they need an expendable pilot more than they appreciate the risk of possible Angel contamination.

[Warren Peace]

I forget where, but somebody remarked upon the similarity between Unit-08's helmet and that... thing they're keeping Asuka in at the end of 2.22.

[SaltyJoe]

It is currently unsure if anyone inside NERV or SEELE knows that Mari survived the battle between Unit-05 and the Third Angel, until she chooses to reveal herself (which could happen for pretty much any reason).

Somehow, i doubt that Mari's Beast Mode shenanigans and whatnot can escape anyone's attention. Unless the good people of Nerv are even more incompetent than i thought.

Pretty much everything is up in the air regarding who will pilot what in the next movie. All i know is that if Mari is revealed to be Unit-07, i'm going to cry. And not tears of joy.

EDIT:

Does anyone get the impression that the penultimate shot being of the contamination pod (Or whatever you call it) and then straight after a shot of Asuka very clearly not in the pod implies that it isn't her in there?

No one's in the pod in the shot from the trailer. It's empty, thus signifying that Asuka is out of there.

[liquidus118]

Does anyone get the impression that the penultimate shot being of the contamination pod (Or whatever you call it) and then straight after a shot of Asuka very clearly not in the pod implies that it isn't her in there? Maybe it's just me, but it makes me think it's someone else, presumably Rei or Shinji getting spat out by Yui.

[Jornophelanthas]

Somehow, i doubt that Mari's Beast Mode shenanigans and whatnot can escape anyone's attention. Unless the good people of Nerv are even more incompetent than i thought.

Pretty much everything is up in the air regarding who will pilot what in the next movie. All i know is that if Mari is revealed to be Unit-07, i'm going to cry. And not tears of joy.

But nobody found out her identity. Since Mari exited Unit-02 while everyone was looking at Unit-01 at the epicenter of Near-Third Impact, she could conceivably go into hiding until she chooses to reveal that she was the one who did the piloting.

Fact is, though, with Rei, Shinji and Unit-01 out of commission and Unit-00 irredeemably lost, there is a shortage of operational Evangelions (Unit-06, and Unit-02 after major repairs), as well as a shortage of battle-ready pilots (currently, only Kaworu is available).

[SaltyJoe]

But nobody found out her identity. Since Mari exited Unit-02 while everyone was looking at Unit-01 at the epicenter of Near-Third Impact, she could conceivably go into hiding until she chooses to reveal that she was the one who did the piloting.

Point. Truth is, i didn't even consider that as a possibility because i think it's high time that they really start integrating Mari into the plot, and have her interact with other characters besides her outside helpers (meaning Kaji) as early as possible. We shall see.

[Jornophelanthas]

Point. Truth is, i didn't even consider that as a possibility because i think it's high time that they really start integrating Mari into the plot, and have her interact with other characters besides her outside helpers (meaning Kaji) as early as possible. We shall see.

What you say is quite likely, right after they revive Asuka. After all, having only 1 pilot (Kaworu) and 2 Evangelions (02 and 06) is a very good reason to bring Asuka back.

And if that has been done, Mari can be integrated anyway, so there will be some nice Asuka-Mari interaction (which I guess may be the kind of rivalry Asuka was expecting in the first place, and which we've never actually seen in NGE).

Something like that sounds better than a Mari-Kaworu interaction. These two (largely unrevealed) personalities seem to be such complete opposites from what little information we have, that I have a hard time imagining any meaningful interaction between them at all.

[Electric Sachiel]

Unit-02 is heavily damaged, but it just needs (major) repairs.

And I expect Unit-02 to be repaired quite early on in 3.0.

Actually to be honest i'd expect Unit 02 to be out of commission as well. True to form that the Eva only lost a few limbs and got moderate head damage, but dont you FORGET that the Eva's limiters were ejected and turned Unit 02 into the BEASTO. How the hell are NERV bio-engineers going to be able to turn Unit 02 back to what it once was?

The thing has pretty mutated into another weapon. And syncing a pilot to it can lead to mental contamination. Hence probably why Mari is seen in an isolation chamber naked in the 3.0 preview.


I'd say in the beginning of Eva 3.0 the only Eva we see is the Mark 6 or perhaps the Unit 07 or 08....

[liquidus118]

With Asuka, Shinji and Rei all out of the game in some form or another and 00 destroyed, 01 quarantined and 02 completely fucked it makes me think Anno's gonna pull a troll on us and have all three (Characters and Evas) pushed to the side for 3.0 to make Mari, Kaworu and presumably someone else the focus of 3.0.
I keep seeing people say they think Toji is the next pilot, but I'd think it'd be a funny twist if they made Kensuke the new pilot if they're choosing from the current cast.

[Warren Peace]

It's possible that they don't even need pilots anymore, if the dummy plug system "test" was considered successful.

[Azathoth]

It's possible that they don't even need pilots anymore, if the dummy plug system "test" was considered successful.

That depends; Unit 01's dummy system has to be considered pretty much a failure, seeing as how Unit 01 refuses to work with it. More than that, though, the dummy plug appears to be more of a Nerv project this time around. It's not clear that Seele have dummy systems of their own - let alone need them. Why bother with Kaworubot 9000 when you can stick the real thing in there?

[Hashmal]

first off, who the hell has been spreading the beyond insane "theory" that Mari is Unit 07? does that mean she has a tiny person insider her piloting her piloting her Evangelion? Why not stick her Eva into the entry plug of a larger unit and call it Tengen Toppa Evangelion? Well, given that she seems to be an expatriate from a Super Robot show, that could work were this any other franchise. But this is Eva, let's be serious.

Secondly, it's obvious 08 will be piloted by Shikinami. It has an "awakening pilot". She's in a coma. The trailer shows her awake. Enough said.

[Azathoth]

first off, who the hell has been spreading the beyond insane "theory" that Mari is Unit 07?

The basic framework of the theory was that: (1) the Q preview makes obvious the appearance of Unit 08, (2) if there is a Unit 08 there must be a Unit 07 but (3) we are not shown it, therefore (4) there is some reason for which we are not shown Unit 07. So far so good. From there it is a tempting jump to make that there is some facet of Unit 07's appearance which would spoil or otherwise make obvious the plot if we were to see it.

Nor is the concept of a human-sized Eva entirely new; up until quite late in the scripting process, NGE was planned to feature a miniature Eva which if I recall was somehow supposed to unleash Rei-III's power (this was before the idea of the white giant being Lilith had fully crystallized). And given Mari's unusual properties and deliberately unexplained backstory (and presumed lack of an Eva as soon as Asuka wakes up) it is tempting to associate her with Units 07 and 08 - and from there it is not an utterly ridiculous leap of logic to say that she is Unit 07.

It's deeply improbable on thematic grounds, of course: how can Mari pursue Anno's goal of destroying Eva if she's Eva herself?

But this is Eva, let's be serious.

Evangelion = serious fucking business, don't forget the forehead vulvae amirite

Secondly, it's obvious 08 will be piloted by Shikinami. It has an "awakening pilot". She's in a coma. The trailer shows her awake. Enough said.

Far from obvious. It is not the pilot but rather Unit 08 itself which is said to be "awakening" - or perhaps quickening. If "quickening" is the intended translation, one would more logically associate Unit 08 with Rei and/or Shinji, who are in the womb as of the end of 2.22 and therefore ideal candidates for quickening.

[Legendary]

I was under the impression the line was "The quickening of Unit 08's pilot." This still associates wtih Shinji or Rei, however.

The logical pilot line-up, which I believed I mentioned before, is something like this:

01-Shinji
02-Asuka
06-Kaworu
07-Mari
08-Rei

[Hashmal]

Evangelion = serious fucking business, don't forget the forehead vulvae amirite

Hey, that's not fair. Reilith only had one vulva on her forehead.

[SaltyJoe]

first off, who the hell has been spreading the beyond insane "theory" that Mari is Unit 07?

Though i think Azathoth's analysis is nice, it's really just an inane joke that has to do with another Gainax-related anime, Diebuster.

.The logical pilot line-up (...)

With 2.0, the Khara-team pretty much put themselves in a position where they can asspull almost anything in the next movie. I don't think there is such a thing as a logical line-up besides Shiji->01, Kaworu->06. That, and they should stick to the established pilots.

EDIT:
Just to add to the "quickening" deal, i think the line is best translated (with my next to non-existent Japanese) as "The quickening Unit-08 and it's pilot." The Eva is said to be quickening, and it's simply mentioned that it will have a pilot, but nothing is said about the pilot's state.

[Jornophelanthas]

I was under the impression the line was "The quickening of Unit 08's pilot."

I thought the line was "The quickening of Unit-08 and it's pilot."

[Sailor Star Dust]

I thought the line was "The quickening of Unit-08 and it's pilot."

Yep: 胎動 (たいどう) quickening; foetal (fetal) movement; fomenting (trouble).

The line in full:

taidou ha suru Eva hachigoku to sono pairoto.

"Quickening Eva-08 and that ("its" in this case) pilot."

Nothing about the pilot's state, just the state of the Eva unit.

And yeah, the idea of Mari being Eva-07 is a nod to Diebuster (there are a few fanarts of this ), also considering the fact Eva-07 is strangely absent from the Q preview.

It wouldn't be the first time of a person becoming an Eva for whatever it's worth: Asuka in Yamashita's Anima becomes a giant Eva-02 (lolwtf), although that's slightly different from a person being a Lilin-sized Eva.

More than anything, it's a good idea that perhaps Mari will become Eva-07's pilot, provided the Eva's introduced into the film. Maybe it's absent because it's being used for scrap parts (in place of Eva-05 and 06 in NGE)? Who knows.

[Warren Peace]

This is exactly what they hoped for when they skipped Unit-07... "Like, maybe EVERYONE is Eva-07, and they all transform into a giant robot and fight Unit-08!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWWNnESqNHw&feature=related

Hey, it could happen. EVERYONE was the 18th angel, after all.