No, Evangelion’s Final Movie Will Not Be Six Hours Long

Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the most prestigious anime to ever greet fans, and it holds a coveted spot in history to this day. The show’s recent move to Netflix was greeted with massive fanfare, and it has renewed interested in the franchise’s ‘Rebuild of Evangelion’ movies. And in case you were wondering, the film isn’t going to have a six-hour runtime as rumored.

If you need context for this strange rumor, it all began last weekend after a tweet was posted by Studio Khara. The company posted the image in honor of Neon Genesis Evangelion‘s 25th anniversary. Khara wanted to give fans a peek at the anime’s final film, and fans quickly noticed the screenshot posted featured a timestamp of 05:59:55:00.

As you can imagine, fans interpreted the time code as the film’s final runtime. After all, Khara did say the still was pulled from the last part of Evangelion‘s impending film. Many speculated the sneak-peek was filmed just after the film’s credits, but that is not the case.

Khara released a statement this week clarifying the ordeal for fans. The studio explained the time code was not tracking the film’s runtime but its roll count. Movie productions usually divide sections of footage into a roll, and a director combines their reels to make a film’s final cut. The timestamp seen in the controversial picture begins with 05 because the film was currently viewing its fifth roll. So rather than conveying a massive runtime, the still informed fans the movie has five reels.

This production system is a bit outdated now given the digital nature of animation, but the terminology has stuck around. Khara went on to apologize for confusing fans with its post, but Evangelion fans are simply happy to have received an official explanation. After all, a six-hour film would be a lot to take in, but director Hideaki Anno is nothing if not surprising.

Are you glad to see this rumor all cleared up? Will you be tuning into this Evangelion finale? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.

HT – ANN