New Neon Genesis Evangelion TV Series Announced With Yoko Taro as Lead Writer
A new television anime in the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise was announced at a 30th anniversary event in Yokohama, with yoko taro tapped to handle scripts and series composition. The reveal matters because the franchise’s original creator, Hideaki Anno, will not be writing the scripts and the creative team assembled combines longtime Evangelion collaborators with talent from the NieR games.
Yoko Taro Named Series Composer
Organizers confirmed that Yoko Taro, best known as the creator of the NieR video game series, will pen the scripts and serve as series composer for the new Evangelion anime. yoko taro is noted for unconventional storytelling in video games and has previously co-written television scripts, including work on a NieR: Automata anime spinoff. The announcement also noted an eccentric personal trademark: Yoko Taro often appears wearing a large moon mask.
Studio Khara and CloverWorks to Produce
The production is a joint effort between Studio Khara and CloverWorks. The new series was unveiled during the franchise’s 30th anniversary celebrations held in Yokohama; beyond key staffing, organizers have not released plot details. Presenters showed a trailer that was described as light on narrative information, and a promotional social-media post associated with that material was dated February 23, 2026.
Kazuya Tsurumaki and Toko Yatabe to Direct
Directing duties will be handled by Kazuya Tsurumaki alongside Toko Yatabe. Tsurumaki’s credits include the Rebuild of Evangelion films and a recent Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX anime. Toko Yatabe is credited for work on Evangelion: 3. 0+1. 0 Thrice Upon a Time. The pairing places experienced Evangelion personnel in leadership roles even as the scripting baton passes to an outside creator.
Keiichi Okabe to Score; Hideaki Anno Steps Back from Scripts
Composer Keiichi Okabe, known for his work on the NieR franchise and Tekken, will provide the music for the series. The creative shift is notable: Hideaki Anno, the original franchise creator, will not be writing the scripts for this project. That change in authorship is the proximate cause for bringing Yoko Taro on as series composer and suggests a deliberately different creative direction, though producers have not specified whether the show will be a remake, sequel or spin-off.
Evangelion Franchise Background and Availability
The announcement framed the new series against a franchise with a long and influential history. The original Neon Genesis Evangelion television series ran for 26 half-hour episodes and was followed by a wrap-up movie that replaced the final two televised episodes, which had been highly abstract. The franchise later produced Rebuild of Evangelion, a series of four feature films that retell the original events with altered plot elements and a new ending; those four films were released between 2007 and 2021. The original series and the End of Evangelion film are available on Netflix, while the four Rebuild films are available on Prime Video.
The original show centered on teenagers piloting giant mechs called Evas against creatures known as Angels, and it explored themes including existential uncertainty, theology, mental health, anxiety, depression, coming of age and familial resentment. What makes this notable is the pairing of that core thematic legacy with a writer better known for expansive, multiverse-spanning game lore: NieR’s narratives span thousands of years and at times engage parallel-universe premises. NieR itself originated as a spin-off of a PS2 game called Drakengard; one ending of Drakengard involves a final boss transported to modern-day Tokyo, whose slaying releases a virus that contributes to the post-apocalyptic setting of NieR—an illustrative example of how the NieR universe links disparate tones and timelines.
With an experienced Evangelion director team, a composer from NieR and Tekken, and Yoko Taro writing the scripts, the new series represents both continuity and deliberate change. Producers have presented a trailer and named principal staff but left core plot and format questions unanswered, leaving the franchise’s next chapter open to a range of possibilities.
