A new Neon Genesis Evangelion series is in the works with the perfect writer: Nier Automata's Yoko Taro

On the final day of its 30th anniversary celebrations, the iconic Evangelion series announces a project that will make everyone sit up and take notice: a new series, written by Nier: Automata's Yoko Taro.

Details on the anime are currently thin on the ground, with Evangelion's official website only stating that it was announced today, February 23, alongside a taste of the talent involved. A brief (and suitably cryptic) teaser trailer has also been released.

Yoko Taro will be on scripting duties, Toru Yatabe (Chainsaw Man, Weathering With You) and Kazuya Tsurumaki (Rebuild of Evangelion) are directing, with music by Keiichi Okabe (Tekken, Nier: Automata).

All told, a collective dream team of creatives to launch a new era of Evangelion – following on from the original 1995-1996 series, its End of Evangelion feature follow-up, and the 21st Century Rebuild of Evangelion movies, which further warped the universe with alternate timelines and time loops.

Yoko Taro, then, should be right at home. The video game visionary – who often spends his public appearances wearing a mask of the character Emil from the Nier series – is best known for his mind-bending works that break down boundaries of the medium, while also offering unconventional, experimental narratives. Yes, that includes cramming 26 endings into Nier: Automata, one of which asks players to sacrifice their save data to help future users accomplish their goal.

Taro has frequently been open about Neon Genesis Evangelion's influence on his works. The classic series, charting the many, many existential crises of EVA pilot Shinji, is often considered one of the best anime of all time thanks to its mature storytelling and enigmatic lore.

"The work I was most inspired by is Neon Genesis Evangelion," Taro previously told IGN Japan. "I thank you for praising Nier: Automata's story, but actually it's pretty much just a retelling of Evangelion, so there's not much originality to it. I don't really watch recent movies, so I'm mostly inspired by memories of works I saw in the past."

For more, check out our guide to best anime movies. Want to catch up on Evangelion? You'll need to know how to watch Neon Genesis Evangelion in order.