A new trailer for Evangelion 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon a Time has revealed the film’s premiere date in Japan; January 23rd, 2021.

Crunchyroll reports that before the Demon Slayer: Mugen Train movie showed in theaters a trailer for the film, previously delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The film’s production company, Studio Khara, also reportedly confirmed that the advanced tickets that were sold for the earlier release date would still be valid.

This trailer was later shared online by Khara. You can find that trailer (via Anime US) below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRcjFME4wis

Directed by Hideaki Anno, the film promises to be the final chapter of the franchise, which as been running for almost 30 years. The Rebuild of Evangelion films initially told the story of the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV anime series, with the Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth and The End of Evangelion films acting as an alternate ending after fans were extremely dissatisfied with the series’ ending.

However, the second film- Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance- began to divert from the original plot, and Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo ended up as an entirely new story. While the next film (then known as Evangelion 3.0+1.0) was expected to premiere in 2015, Anno delayed the film due to working on Shin Godzilla, and issues stemming from depression.

The original TV anime took place in the year 2015, 15 years after the global cataclysm Second Impact. Shinki Ikari is brought before his estranged father to join NERV, a special unit set up to destroy Angels using giant bio-machines dubbed Evangelion (or EVAs).

Together with Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley Soryu attempt to protect the world; but crash head-first into a world of deception, trauma, and a battle for minds and humanity.