Neon Genesis Evangelion will get a stage play adaptation, but it won’t be following in the footsteps of the TV series or the rebooted films. Formally titled Evangelion Beyond, the Evangelion stage play will reportedly tell a new, original story, with new threats, characters, and a new plot.[Thanks, Cinema Today, and Mantan Web!]
The Evangelion stage play will debut in Shinjuku, Japan, at the Theater Milano-Za. The plot premise has few similarities to the original work. In fact, outside of the presence of the Evangelion units themselves and their teenage pilots, it appears to be a different story entirely.
The story takes place on an Earth devastated by strife and verging on collapse. The Eva units are piloted by teenagers operating under the command of the special organization MENSCH. The pilots board their Evangelion units to fight “Ikimono” (literally “living things” in Japanese), unknown creatures that emerge from beneath the Earth’s surface.
The cast of the Evangelion stage play will also play original characters. The first four members introduced from the top of the above image are:
- Masataka Kubota, playing Soushi Watamori
- Shizuka Ishibashi, playing Yuu Mizuho
- Nijiro Murakami, playing Tan Hasumi
- Tetsushi Tanaka, playing Masatsugu Sugo
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, a Belgian performer and stage director, will direct and choreograph the play, based on a script by Seiji Nozoe.
Evangelion Beyond debuts on May 6, 2023 in Japan in Shinjuku. On May 28, 2023, It will then move to Nagano and run for two days from June 3-4, 2023. It’ll close out its run from June 10 through June 19, 2023 in Osaka. A promotional attraction called Evangelion Kabukicho Impact will run from April 28, 2023.
