Evangelion 3.0+1.0 has been delayed again. The movie was initially slated a release date of sometime in 2015, but circumstance has continually pushed it back. Now, only nine days before Evangelion 3.0+1.0 was to hit theaters, the expansion of Japan’s state of emergency has resulted in the release of eagerly anticipated film being postponed again.
Why was Evangelion 3.0+1.0 delayed again?
Evangelion 3.0+1.0 had a release date of January 23, 2021, almost a year and a half after the first teaser was released. However, Japan’s expansion of its recently declared state of emergency today has made a premiere untenable. Authorities in 11 of the most populated prefectures are asking citizens to avoid non-essential outings, which includes movie theaters.
Unlike in the US, where anime is mostly given limited showings at theaters, Evangelion 3.0+1.0 is expected to be one of the biggest movies of the year. Releasing it at a time where many fans won’t be able to attend would be disastrous for Studio Khara and Toho.
What will the new Evangelion 3.0+1.0 release date be?
Unfortunately, this is the second major delay for the film. The previous movie in the series, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, hit theaters in late 2012, and Evangelion 3.0+1.0 was tentatively set for release in 2015. However, series creator and director Hideaki Anno paused production on the film to work on Shin Godzilla. As such, the majority of the work on the movie wasn’t started until late 2016.
Evangelion 3.0+1.0 was slated for release on June 27, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this date was pushed to January 23, 2021. Now, with COVID-19 still spreading like wildfire throughout the world, the theatrical debut was postponed again.
The new release date for Evangelion 3.0+1.0 hasn’t been announced. However, the film is complete, so Toho could bring it to theaters at any time. COVID-19 vaccine manufacture and distribution are still in the works in Japan, and the first inoculations won’t begin until late February. That means that the earliest we’d see the movie release would likely be in March or later.
