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Final Evangelion Film Delayed Again Due to COVID-19

The official Twitter account for the Evangelion franchise announced on Thursday that Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time (Shin Evangelion Gekijō-ban :||), the new Evangelion film, will not open on January 23 as planned. The staff stated they are delaying the film again after careful consideration due to the new state of emergency declared in four prefectures in Japan on January 8, and then extended to a total of 11 prefectures on Wednesday.

The staff stated they will reveal a new release date at a later time. The staff are also delaying a Shiro SAGISU Music from “SHIN EVANGELION” CD release that was planned for February 10, and will announce a new release date later.

The Twitter account had stated on Saturday the midnight screenings of the film planned for 15 theaters in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Sapporo on January 23 were canceled.

The film had been set to open on January 23 after a previous delay due to concerns over the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its spread inside and outside of Japan. The film was originally scheduled to open in Japan on June 27, 2020. Hikaru Utada returns to perform the theme song "One Last Kiss" for the film.

The first three films in the tetralogy, Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can [Not] Advance, and Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, debuted in 2007, 2009, and 2012 respectively. The three films had new MX4D and 4DX screenings in Japan that opened on December 4, 11, and 18, respectively.

The state of emergency will be in place until Sunday, February 7. During the state of emergency, the 11 prefectures are asking movie theaters to close by 8:00 p.m. every day, as well as limit their audiences to 50% of seating capacity.

Update: Hikaru Utada's new single "One Last Kiss" is also delayed from its January 27 release date. Source: Music Natalie

Source: Evangelion franchise's Twitter account via Hachima Kikō