Yoko Taro to Lead New Evangelion Series; yoko taro Named at 30th Anniversary
A new Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series was announced at the franchise’s 30th anniversary event in Yokohama, Japan, and yoko taro will be handling the scripts and series composition. Creator Hideaki Anno will not be writing the scripts for the project.
Announcement in Yokohama, Japan
The project was revealed during 30th anniversary celebrations held in Japan, with the announcement taking place in Yokohama. Organizers showed a trailer that is light on details and credited the key creative roles on screen.
Yoko Taro and writing role
Yoko Taro, best known as the creator of NieR, has been tapped to pen the scripts and series composition for the new TV anime. The announcement noted Yoko Taro’s involvement explicitly; he is also described in coverage as someone who wears a giant and rather unsettling moon mask. This will not be his first time working on television scripts—he co-wrote the NieR: Automata anime spinoff.
Directors and production credits
Kazuya Tsurumaki will direct episodes of the new series, and credits shown with the trailer list both Kazuya Tsurumaki and Toko Yatabe as directors. Kazuya Tsurumaki previously directed the Rebuild of Evangelion films and the recent Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX anime. Toko Yatabe is credited with work including Evangelion: 3. 0+1. 0 Thrice Upon a Time. The new series is being produced by Studio Khara and CloverWorks.
Composer and music duties
Composer Keiichi Okabe, associated with NieR and credited with work on Tekken, will provide the score for the new show. The trailer credits shown on February 23, 2026 list the series as written by Yoko Taro, directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki and Toko Yatabe, with music by Keiichi Okabe and animation production by CloverWorks x Khara.
Plot details remain unknown
Organizers and the available trailer have not revealed plot specifics. It is not yet known whether the new series will be a remake of the original story, a sequel, or a spin-off in the vein of the chibi-inspired Petit Eva: Evangelion@School. Additional details have not been revealed at this time.
Franchise history and context
The original Neon Genesis Evangelion series followed teenagers piloting giant robots called Evas against Angels. That series has long been described as a deconstruction of the mecha genre and, across its 26 half-hour episodes and a subsequent wrap-up movie that replaced the final two episodes, tackled themes including existential uncertainty, theology, mental health, anxiety, depression, coming of age and familial resentment. Those final two original episodes were so abstract they were widely described as unintelligible at the time.
Rebuild films and NieR background
The Rebuild of Evangelion project comprised four feature films that retold the events of the series with different plot elements and a new ending; those four films were released between 2007 and 2021. The NieR franchise—created by Yoko Taro—is known for rich and complex lore spanning thousands of years and occasionally dipping into parallel universes. NieR itself grew out of the Drakengard series: in one of Drakengard’s multiple endings a final boss is transported from a fantasy realm to modern-day Tokyo, and slaying that beast releases a virus that plagues humankind, which leads to NieR’s post-apocalyptic setting. That origin was likened in coverage to a scenario where events of a Dragon Quest game somehow led to the world of Resident Evil.
The announcement and the credited trailer on February 23, 2026 leave many questions open about tone and direction, but the creative lineup—Yoko Taro on scripts, Kazuya Tsurumaki and Toko Yatabe directing, Keiichi Okabe composing, and Studio Khara with CloverWorks producing—are now public.
Additional specifics, including plot, episode count and release timing, remain unclear in the provided context.
