Attack on Titan: How Would a Sequel Work?

Attack on Titan is preparing to end its anime adaptation this fall, with Studio MAPPA working on the final battle that sees the Scout Regiment taking on their former friend Eren Jaeger. Years prior to this anime finale, the manga by creator Hajime Isyama came to an end and gave a definitive conclusion to the Survey Corps. Keeping this in mind, is it possible for Attack on Titan to one day receive a sequel? Not only is it possible, but the series would most likely be far different from the adventure of Eren Jaeger and company. 

Warning. If you haven’t read the Attack on Titan finale that took place in the manga, be forewarned that we’ll be diving into serious spoiler territory. Should a sequel to Attack on Titan one day hit the anime world, it would most likely leave behind Eren Jaeger, Armin, Mikasa, and the current world of the Scout Regiment. As was seen in the manga’s final chapter, Eren dies thanks to Mikasa deciding that he must be killed to save the world. As the Eldians attempt to live in a world where most of the population was wiped out thanks to the Rumbling, Eren’s efforts aren’t the end of war in the slightest.

A big reason why an Attack on Titan sequel couldn’t focus on our current cast of characters is that Eren uses the power of the Founding Titan to eliminate all Titan powers from existence. Despite eliminating so many innocent people, Jaeger uses his last act to make sure that his friends who were transformed into raging Titans, like Jean and Connie, would revert back to normal. By also getting rid of the Titan powers, he has drastically increased the lifespan of the likes of Armin, Pieck, and Falco to name a few.

Creator Hajime Isayama takes the opportunity to show the future of his fictional world, with panels and pages dedicated to wars that take place aided by technological advancements. We presumably move hundreds if not thousands of years into the future via this “Director’s Cut”, focusing on a war-torn environment where a young child and their dog seemingly come to a familiar-looking tree. Said tree is of course amazingly similar to the plant that first introduced Ymir to the parasite that kicked off the Titans in the first place. In this final page, Isayama seemingly sets the stage for the cycle to start all over again.

The Future is Now

Should Attack on Titan continue with this future storyline, there are plenty of interesting avenues for it to follow. Toward the end of the manga, we begin to see that the power of the Titans was being outpaced by technology, and while Eren’s Rumbling did eradicate large swaths of the planet, it might be a different story if there is advanced weaponry, vehicles, and automatons. Could the Titan powers match technology or would the abilities seem almost quaint in comparison to something like a nuclear bomb?

Of course, a potential sequel would also need to introduce a bevy of new characters for the new era. This isn’t to say that there couldn’t be nods to the past however, and perhaps some of the new figures could be related to heroes and villains that started the franchise. While a good portion of the world was wiped off the map, the bloodlines of the Brauns, Jaegers, Ackermans, and more could continue on, reflecting the past while forging a terrifying future. 

Do you think we’ll one day see an Attack on Titan 2? What would you like to see in the future of the franchise? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of the Titans.