Amazon Prime Video has picked up international rights to “Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time,” the fourth movie in the “Evangelion” hit anime movie franchise.
The streaming giant will release the film worldwide, excluding Japan, from Aug. 13, 2021. The film, made by a quartet of helmers including original director Anno Hideaki, was released in Japanese theater in March and remains the highest grossing film of the year to date.
The “Evangelion” franchise is a Japanese anime pop culture phenomenon based on the story of Evangelion, an artificial human and multipurpose humanoid weapon, and the Angels, an unknown life-form which takes place after the Earth has been shattered by a cataclysmic event. Production is by Studio Khara.
It was born in 1995 as a TV series and was credited with elevating the anime genre and Japanese pop culture worldwide. The first “Evangelion” movie “Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone” was released in 2007, with the second and third movies coming out in 2009 and 2014, respectively.
The new film includes recurring voice cast members Ogata Megumi, Hayashibara Megumi and Miyamura Yuko and boasts upgraded visuals. Amazon Prime Video will make it available with 10 different language dubs (including English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian) and provide subtitles in 28 languages.
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The launch of the fourth, and supposedly final, chapter in the film series will be accompanied by the release of the three previous elements: “Evangelion 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone,” “Evangelion:2.22 You Can (Not) Advance” and “Evangelion:3.33 You Can (Not) Redo.”
“The ‘Evangelion’ films have been thrilling fans for years and we know that there is a huge appetite around the world for the finale” said Brad Beale, VP, worldwide content licensing at Amazon Prime Video.
“We were looking for the best way to offer the movie to fans overseas as early as possible in a challenging situation with movie theaters during COVID-19, and are happy to have found Prime Video as a partner to stream it globally. We highly recommend watching it on a big TV screen for the best viewing experience,” said Anno, who is credited as creator, screenwriter and chief director. On the fourth film his co-directors are Tsurumaki Kazuya, Nakayama Katsuichi and Maeda Mahiro.