Fans Begin to Worry 'Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time' Finale Will Be Six Hours Long

25 years ago on October 4, 1995, the Neon Genesis Evangelion television anime series debuted in Japan. To mark the anniversary of the start of the iconic franchise, earlier this week the official Twitter accounts of Evangelion and studio Khara posted messages thanking fans for their support.

Standing out amongst the series of tweets was a message from series creator and director Hideaki Anno, who noted the patience of fans over the years. Included in the post was the cover of the original pitch proposal for the Evangelion TV show and an internal-use title card for test footage from the upcoming Rebuild film.

The title card notes “D-part,” which is the final sequence of the film before the ending credits roll. But the “Sin_Dpart 2020/10/02 05:59:50:00” notation on the card is now leading fans to believe that Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time might have a six-hour run time. Causing a divide in the fandom, some fans believe that a lengthy final chapter is a fitting end to the Rebuild film series launched in 2007, while some are worried about having to dedicate that amount of time to finish the story.

Catch the message from Hideaki Anno and the posts for the 25th-anniversary of Neon Genesis Evangelion below.

㊗️ #エヴァ25周年 ㊗️
本日2020年10月4日『エヴァンゲリオン』シリーズは『新世紀エヴァンゲリオン』テレビ放送開始から25周年を迎えました！
これまで応援下さった全ての皆様へ感謝いたします。
そしてこれからも、どうぞよろしくお願いいたします。 pic.twitter.com/6s4WX2TtFb

— エヴァンゲリオンofficial (@evangelion_co) October 3, 2020

#エヴァ25周年 に寄せて、庵野秀明より皆様へ。

画像は『新世紀エヴァンゲリオン』最初（最古）の企画書の表紙1993年9月20日版。と、
『シン・エヴァンゲリオン劇場版』Dパート（最終ブロック）の最新ラッシュの画面2020年10月2日版。#エヴァンゲリオン #エヴァ pic.twitter.com/92zgiRcWlk

— 株式会社カラー (@khara_inc) October 4, 2020

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