New Evangelion series announced

[Melkor]

Supposing the new series takes place within the Rebuild continuity

It doesn't.

Do we know that for sure? A lot of the imagery we see in the trailer is resemblant of the ruins we see scattered throughout 3.0 + 1.0. If it's set before 3.0, that would explain why Unit-01 is present in the trailer looking all menacing, because it's before they had to launch it into space.

[IronEvangelion]

Toji as pilot of EVA 05 has to happen. Please...

I just want to see Kensuke finally get an Eva so he can live the dream, and watch him nerd out over it. It would be so cool to have a pilot who actually enjoys his job.

[Melkor]

Toji as pilot of EVA 05 has to happen. Please...

I just want to see Kensuke finally get an Eva so he can live the dream, and watch him nerd out over it. It would be so cool to have a pilot who actually enjoys his job.

We kind of get some of that with Mari, a nerdy girl that enjoys piloting the Evas. To be fair though, we barely got to see any of her, so with a show there would be a lot more time to see that with some of the pilots.

[Weird_ocean]

Realistically, we have at least 3 possibilities:

1. NGE/EOE prequel/sequel/stories untold in the series and movie. An expansion of an original story.

2. Rebuild stories of Asuka's clone days, Mari, or the 14-year skip.

3. Completely new story from a loop/alternate universe, with or without characters from the original show.

We don't know obviously, but if we look at the teaser trailer, we see a post-apocalyptic setting with a never-before-seen monster-type creature, which may or may not be a new type of EVA.

If I were Khara and wanted to sell the new series better, I would definitely include some original characters at least in some role, be it a side character, cameo, or episodic. It would guarantee a smooth transition to the new EVA format, where the EVA universe is handed to different producers, studios, and writers to create something new, while at the same time being familiar enough for the fans. Kind of like Gundam did in early seasons, where characters from previous seasons were present.

It is the first big non-Anno Eva project, and if it doesn't feature the OG cast, it has a pretty big risk of being rejected, even if it has Yoko Taro as the writer. People know him mostly for games, and the anime/EVA audience won't necessarily accept the show just because it's him. Although, his name is a big factor in promoting the show.

So, I expect it to be either 1 or 3, leaning toward option 3. Rebuild was releasing for 14 years, and I think the audience is kind of tired of this continuity. Not to mention how big of a deal Anno made of ending it. There will probably be some original characters, but I'm not sure about that.

I'm leaning more toward option 3 because we have never actually seen the monster at the end of the trailer in both continuities. Although, it's not new for EVA lore to be stretched by adding more and more new things to it.

[Szmitten]

Considering the repeated phrase - to the extent that it's borderline the project's unnofficial name currently - is "Completely New Evangelion"; being released after a 15 year long remake project culminating in "Goodbye all of Evangelion", "My Eva ends here"; and hot on the heels of a final celebration of the franchise's 30 year history with the versions and characters and cast that it had in that time getting a send off; and an unrecogniseable design for an Eva unlike anything seen before in any continuity: "Completely New" is gonna mean "completely new", not "a little bit new", not "some old faces", not an interquel. It's G Evangelion, like Anno wanted for decades. It's gonna be new.

[Melkor]

Is that really a new monster/creature in the trailer? I thought that was just Unit-01 in a different art style. When Anno handed the reins of Eva over to other creators to make more, I'd imagine he didn't just give them free reign to do absolutely anything they want with it. Eva is still his baby, so there is probably a list he has of certain things they can't do with it or the characters. One of those things might be that they can't just remake the series and tell the same story with the same characters. That would honestly be a little disrespectful to Anno. He spent all this time crafting the Rebuilds and sending off the characters, only for someone to then come in after and be like "actually, the original creators' vision doesn't matter because I'm just going to redo it to be how I would have wanted it to go."

They have way too much respect for Anno to just do something like that. It would be like Disney decided to completely remake the original six Star Wars movies and do their own version of it to replace George Lucas' version. I'd imagine that George Lucas also probably put some kind of clause in the contract specifically forbidding Disney from doing just that. In modern entertainment, and especially Hollywood,, there seems to be this prevailing arrogant attitude among modern writers when it comes to remakes where they think they can do it better than the original creator, and often times it ends up being trash.

If they do want to use the old characters, the only thing Anno might allow them to do is tell stories within the existing continuities he has made (og anime and Rebuilds), like explaining the 14 year time skip, but nothing that retells and overwrites them. A new series with a brand new cast of characters is probably far more likely than a remake or retelling with the exact same characters as before. They might still be allowed to use the same Eva Units, just not the same characters. I think that might be an okay compromise if they still want to keep some of what makes Eva iconic. I guess it depends on which you think is more iconic to Eva, the Eva Units or the characters. Can just having the Eva Units be enough to carry a show without the old characters?

[Szmitten]

Every lead Gundam in every Gundam AU is a loose remake of the original Gundam: white, blue, red, yellow, two eyes, mouth guard, V-fin.

Every subsequent Evangelion AU will probably loosely remake Eva-01: purple, black, green, two eyes, shoulder pylons, visible teeth, horn.

Gundam/Tomino is the model, it was always his model. Death and Rebirth happened because of Contact/Invoke. The 1997-2004 desire for another studio to make an AU is because of Gundam AU's, saying "G Gundam" specifically. His return to the series was directly spurred by a desire to make his "Victory Gundam". The Shin movies exist in the first place because of Zeta Gundam A New Translation. He wants non-Tomino/Anno Gundam/Evangelion.

[Melkor]

Even in the Gundam franchise there are still some series that come later which are set in the same continuity as a previous series and tell more stories set in that continuity rather than every single Gundam series being a completely new and separate thing. So if Eva is going to emulate Gundam, new series set in the same continuity as the og anime or Rebuilds are not entirely off the table. Just as Gundam has done prequels, interquels, and sequels top previous continuations, we could get the same. Sequels to the og anime or Rebuilds are probably the least likely though, unless that monster we see in the trailer isn't actually Unit-01 (considering what happens to it at the end of both the og anime and Rebuilds), but some new sort of non Angel/Eva threat that just happens to look vaguely Eva-like. Maybe a member of the FAR come to check on the two moons that landed on Earth and isn't happy with what they've found?

[Konja7]

Is that really a new monster/creature in the trailer? I thought that was just Unit-01 in a different art style. When Anno handed the reins of Eva over to other creators to make more, I'd imagine he didn't just give them free reign to do absolutely anything they want with it. Eva is still his baby, so there is probably a list he has of certain things they can't do with it or the characters. One of those things might be that they can't just remake the series and tell the same story with the same characters. That would honestly be a little disrespectful to Anno. He spent all this time crafting the Rebuilds and sending off the characters, only for someone to then come in after and be like "actually, the original creators' vision doesn't matter because I'm just going to redo it to be how I would have wanted it to go."

They have way too much respect for Anno to just do something like that. It would be like Disney decided to completely remake the original six Star Wars movies and do their own version of it to replace George Lucas' version. I'd imagine that George Lucas also probably put some kind of clause in the contract specifically forbidding Disney from doing just that. In modern entertainment, and especially Hollywood,, there seems to be this prevailing arrogant attitude among modern writers when it comes to remakes where they think they can do it better than the original creator, and often times it ends up being trash.

If they do want to use the old characters, the only thing Anno might allow them to do is tell stories within the existing continuities he has made (og anime and Rebuilds), like explaining the 14 year time skip, but nothing that retells and overwrites them. A new series with a brand new cast of characters is probably far more likely than a remake or retelling with the exact same characters as before. They might still be allowed to use the same Eva Units, just not the same characters. I think that might be an okay compromise if they still want to keep some of what makes Eva iconic. I guess it depends on which you think is more iconic to Eva, the Eva Units or the characters. Can just having the Eva Units be enough to carry a show without the old characters?

You're making too many assumptions about what he might consider disrespectful.

Maybe he wouldn't mind/be bothered by a remake of his Eva.

[Szmitten]

He runs the company, he owns the IP, he has not been ousted. The teaser wasn't sprung on him. He is aware.

[BernardoCairo]

I just want to see Kensuke finally get an Eva so he can live the dream, and watch him nerd out over it. It would be so cool to have a pilot who actually enjoys his job.

I agree. But I'm also very happy with the way he was portrayed in Shin, I'm not going to lie. Kaji inspired design, helped Shinji the most, does everything around the Village... Mad lad.

On the subject of the new EVA 01 design... The more I look at it, the more it looks like a bug. She is reminding me of Cell.

[Melkor]

You think the new series will finally give us a depiction of what the FAR actually look like? Will they play any role at all, or have they mostly been retconned/forgotten?

[Szmitten]

You think the new series will finally give us a depiction of what the FAR actually look like? Will they play any role at all, or have they mostly been retconned/forgotten?

Different continuity, concept won't exist at all.

[Melkor]

Were the FAR even mentioned or referenced in the Rebuild continuity, or were they only a thing in the original anime continuity? I can't remember. Did Anno scrap the idea of the FAR with the Rebuilds?

[BernardoCairo]

Yep. We never heard of them in NTE. But they could be in the new show. Who knows? It depends on what they want to do with the story.

[kuribo-04]

Toji as pilot of EVA 05 has to happen. Please...

I just want to see Kensuke finally get an Eva so he can live the dream, and watch him nerd out over it. It would be so cool to have a pilot who actually enjoys his job.

He thought he'd enjoy it. I don't think he actually would.

[Weird_ocean]

You think the new series will finally give us a depiction of what the FAR actually look like? Will they play any role at all, or have they mostly been retconned/forgotten?

I'm not particularly interested in knowing more about that aspect of the show, as it never played any significant role in the narrative. However I can see how there can be a prequel to Evangelion that takes place billions of years before the events of the show. Like the story of ancient far away civilization that ascended to live on another planet.

As we know EVA was highly influenced by the Space runaway IDEON and the idea of FAR pretty much was copied from there. So it can be an interesting plot overall.

Like a two planets in a dying solar system, and both send seeds of life on the same planet, and fighting over it.

[Konja7]

Yep. We never heard of them in NTE. But they could be in the new show. Who knows? It depends on what they want to do with the story.

We never directly heard of them in NTE, but someone has to send the Dead Sea Scrolls.

In 3.0+1.0, it's even revealed there is a pretty specific choice for humans between "being destroyed by the angels" or "defeat the angels and taking their place (getting the fruit of life and losing he fruit of knowledge)"

[DTGee]

Do we know that for sure? A lot of the imagery we see in the trailer is resemblant of the ruins we see scattered throughout 3.0 + 1.0. If it's set before 3.0, that would explain why Unit-01 is present in the trailer looking all menacing, because it's before they had to launch it into space.

Ruins are part of the Eva world in general, long before the Rebuilds. The trailer is more reminiscent of the abandoned building where Kaworu was playing the piano in his introduction in the manga.

[Axx°N N.]

You think the new series will finally give us a depiction of what the FAR actually look like? Will they play any role at all, or have they mostly been retconned/forgotten?

I'm not particularly interested in knowing more about that aspect of the show, as it never played any significant role in the narrative.

Yeah, because in the context of Eva's story it wasn't needed. But in the context of expanding the frame of reference and turning a self-contained plot into a vehicle to tell other stories, the FAR might prove to be useful.

Maybe this will recontextualize the FAR seeding the universe into a way to tell multiples of the same story beats involving different sets of characters and events. As in, instead of being a cycle with multiple permutations (which, to my mind, the franchise never explained satisfactorily--why is a cycle happening beyond being a useful metaphor?) what the new series will be is how a different world dealt with the arrival of an Adam and Lilith.

You'd have to ret-con the whole 'malfunction' plot beat, but otherwise the FAR is an already baked-in plot element that is already implying other worlds and how they're populated within Eva's mythology. Like, regardless of if the series ends up connected at all, there are supposedly other worlds in the universe of at least OG Eva. We just never see them.