The first trailer for Yoko Taro’s ‘Evangelion’ sends chills down your spine with its messages: “the song of eternal damnation”

It’s part of the magic of ‘Evangelion’ that just when you think you’ve figured out the story—when you think you’ve put all the pieces of the puzzle together—a new movie or project suddenly comes along that turns everything upside down and forces you to revisit Hideaki Anno’s work from start to finish (we’ve taken this opportunity to share a guide to help you do just that).

That’s exactly what the announcement of a new ‘Evangelion’ anime by Yoko Taro has meant—a man who has never been shy about admitting that he based much of NieR: Automata, his magnum opus, on the story of Shinji, Asuka, and company. “The work I was most inspired by is Neon Genesis Evangelion. I thank you for praising NieR: Automata’s story, but actually it’s pretty much just a retelling of Evangelion, so there’s not much originality to it,” he has even said.

Now, on the occasion of Anime Expo 2026 in Los Angeles—where the streaming premiere date for ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle’ has been set, and films like ‘Solo Leveling’ (whose first trailer is so spectacular it looks like a live-action movie) have been announced, we’re getting a recap of the announcement and the English version of the first trailer for this new ‘Evangelion’ series by Yoko Taro.

The trailer is preceded by the logos of CloveWorks and Khara, the studios behind the series. The former are known for the anime ‘Spy x Family,’ while the latter are the award-winning creators of ‘Rebuild of Evangelion,’ the tetralogy we enjoyed on the big screen. Although no approximate release date has been announced, the video also serves to introduce the all-star team working on this adaptation:

• Yoko Taro: screenwriter
• Kazuya Tsurumaki and Toko Yatabe: directors
• Keiichi Okabe: composer

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But the best part of this English-language version of the trailer—which is essentially the same as the original ad—are the text overlays with messages that already give rise to speculation. “An eternal summer vacation. This place is our paradise this place is our graveyard. What we hear is the song of eternal damnation. We pray thy souls rests in peace.” What do you think this refers to? How will it connect to the original series? There are many questions up in the air, but nothing like the scent of theology and metaphysics to know that this is on the right track.

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