Yoko Taro to Pen Scripts for New Neon Genesis Evangelion TV Series

The Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise will return to television with a new series announced at 30th anniversary events in Yokohama, with yoko taro tapped to write scripts and handle series composition. The move matters because the franchise’s creator will not be writing the new episodes and major creative roles have shifted to a team with deep ties to both Evangelion and the NieR games.

Announcement in Yokohama and 30th Anniversary Event

The project was unveiled in Yokohama as part of the franchise’s 30th anniversary celebrations. Organizers released a trailer that is light on plot specifics, and additional details have not been revealed at this time.

Yoko Taro Named Scriptwriter and Series Composer

Yoko Taro will pen the scripts and handle series composition for the television series. Hideaki Anno, the original franchise creator, will not be writing the scripts for this project; that vacancy has been filled by Yoko Taro. What makes this notable is Taro’s background: he is the creator of the video game NieR, a franchise with a dense mythos that spans thousands of years and sometimes dips into parallel-universe storytelling.

Kazuya Tsurumaki and Toko Yatabe to Direct

Kazuya Tsurumaki will direct the project and will be joined by Toko Yatabe. Tsurumaki is an Evangelion veteran who directed the Rebuild of Evangelion films and the recent Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX anime. Yatabe is credited with work on Evangelion: 3. 0+1. 0 Thrice Upon a Time.

Studio Khara and CloverWorks Producing, Keiichi Okabe Scoring

The new series is in production at Studio Khara and CloverWorks. Composer Keiichi Okabe, known for his work on NieR and also credited with music for Tekken, will provide the score for the show.

Connections to NieR and Drakengard Lore

Yoko Taro’s NieR work is often cited for its sprawling, complex narrative: the NieR franchise spans thousands of years and occasionally travels into parallel universes. NieR itself began as a spin-off of the PS2 game Drakengard; in one Drakengard ending a final boss is transported from a fantasy realm to modern-day Tokyo, and the slaying of that creature releases a virus that plagues humankind—a chain of events that leads to NieR’s post-apocalyptic setting. Taro has also previously co-written television scripts, having co-written the NieR: Automata anime spinoff.

How This Fits With Evangelion’s Legacy

The original Neon Genesis Evangelion series focused on teenagers piloting giant Evas against Angels and served as a deconstruction of the mecha genre. Across 26 half-hour episodes and a wrap-up movie that replaced the final two televised episodes, the series tackled themes including existential uncertainty, theology, mental health, anxiety, depression, coming of age and familial resentment. The Rebuild of Evangelion project later retold those events across four feature films with different plot elements and a new ending; those four films were released between 2007 and 2021.

The original television series and the End of Evangelion film are available on Netflix, while the four Rebuild of Evangelion films are available on Prime Video. The new television project’s producers and creative leads have significant ties to those past entries, but the plot direction—whether a remake, a sequel, or a spin-off in a different tone such as the chibi-inspired Petit Eva: Evangelion@School—remains unclear in the provided context.

Because Hideaki Anno is not writing the scripts and the new series unites Yoko Taro’s narrative sensibilities with directors and a composer long associated with Evangelion and NieR, the creative shift is likely to produce a distinct tonal experiment within the franchise. For now, fans must rely on the announced creative team, the sparse trailer, and the fact that production is under Studio Khara and CloverWorks as evidence of the series’ direction.

yoko taro’s involvement marks a clear break from previous creative arrangements for Evangelion, and the single confirmed trailer offers only a hint of what that break will look like on screen.