The Final Evangelion Film Looks Like It’ll Be Completely Over the Top (As It Should Be)

As I mentioned in my deep dive into Neon Genesis Evangelion, the final film in the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy has been plagued by delays, not the least of which has been creator/director Hideaki Anno’s recurring depression. Up ’til now, the only evidence of the film’s progress has been a few scant promo images and teasers. But Khara, the studio behind the Rebuild project, recently screened the film’s first 10 minutes at an event in Paris — and it’s something else.

As might be expected, much of the footage — which is set in a Paris that’s been devastated by the Fourth Impact — is filled with crazy mecha action. That includes the new Evangelion pilot Mari taking on a wave of enemy Evangelion with a pair of gigantic machine guns in a dizzying aerial sequence and, for good measure, a bunch of floating battleships. Because why not?

It all seems to be in service of a covert operation to undo the effects of the Fourth Impact. By the clip’s end, when Paris transforms into a massive Nerv base à la Tokyo-3, I won’t deny that I had a smile on my face. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but then again, one doesn’t necessarily watch Evangelion for something that makes complete sense. You watch it for the spectacle as much as anything — and if these 10 minutes are any indication, Evangelion 3.0+1.0 will have spectacle to spare when it finally arrives in Japanese theaters in 2020.