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Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Film Delayed Due to COVID-19 Concerns (Updated)

The official website for the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise announced on Friday that Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 (Shin Evangelion Gekijō-ban :||), Studio Khara's new Evangelion film, is delayed due to concerns over the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its spread inside and outside of Japan. The film was scheduled to open in Japan on June 27. The staff have not yet revealed a new release date.

The website also revealed a new visual, which features a new tagline and a full English title: Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time.

Studio Khara debuted the first 10 minutes and 40 seconds of the film last July. The Japan Expo event in Paris screened the video at a "Yoko Takahashi x Evangelion Stage" presentation. The video also screened at Anime Expo in Los Angeles, after a screening of Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, and also screened in Shanghai during an Evangelion event in Jing'an District. Additionally, the video screened in six locations in Japan.

Studio Khara had stated in March 2019 that dialogue recording had begun for Evangelion: 3.0+1.0, and voice actress Megumi Ogata (voice of Shinji Ikari) had stated in February that dialogue recording for the film was all but finished.

The first three films in the tetralogy, Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can [Not] Advance, and Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, debuted in 2007, 2009, and 2012 respectively.

Netflix began streaming the original Neon Genesis Evangelion television anime series as well as the Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth and Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion films last June.

Update: Studio Khara posted an English translation of the message by Hideaki Anno regarding the delay of the film:

Sources: Evangelion's official website, Oricon News