Hideaki Anno, best known as the father of all things Evangelion, has been focusing his energies on a new project, as of late. He’s taken his talents to the realm of rubber suits as co-director and writer of upcoming film Godzilla Resurgence (Shin Gojira).
Naturally, as he’s been investing his energies into the legendary lizard’s latest outing, work on Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0 has fallen behind schedule. And he’s sorry about that.
During a press conference for Godzilla Resurgence, the event staff made an official statement to refrain from bringing up Evangelion. Anno, though, stepped forward to address the film at the start of the event:
First of all, I’d like to apologize. I’ve kept you waiting for the new Evangelion for a very, very long time. I am truly sorry. […] Evangelion can best be described as my soul; it is a work that chips off parts of me. The previous work, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (Evangelion Shin Gekijōban: Q), wore me down until I wasn’t able to make anything anymore.
Anno also noted that he felt “saved” by this chance to work on Godzilla Resurgence, stating that “Now, I feel like I can start working on Evangelion.”
Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo hit Japanese theaters in November 2012. The film was produced by Khara, and written by Hideaki Anno. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (Neon Genesis Evangelion, Summer Wars) provided character designs, while directorial duties were shared by Anno, Kazuya Tsurumaki, Mahiro Maeda, and Masayuki.
Funimation currently holds the domestic rights to the first three Evangelion films. The company released Evangelion 3.33 on February 2, following a cooperative rewrite of the dub script with Khara.
