Have Your Say: EVANGELION 3.0 + 1.0 Will (Not) Be Made

Ah, Evangelion... sigh.
Its series and films are rightfully the stuff of legends. I tried to write a short overview of the franchise's history, when the first of the four Rebuild of Evangelion films was released on Blu-ray, but ouch, that took some doing...

It's now been more than three years since the third film of the "Rebuild" series, titled Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo, had its world premiere in Japan. And in a few weeks, after many delays, this film will finally be released on DVD and Blu-ray in English-friendly regions. And, as is inevitable with this particular series of films, for its home release it has been renamed to Evangelion 3.33: You Can (Not) Redo. For a franchise which glorifies its own faults, it is very fitting.

The Evangelion films have always been rather prone to title changes, and the upcoming fourth entry has already had more (and more diverse) names than Prince.
We've seen numbers, symbols... and the latest title everyone seems to currently agree on has a bit of both: Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0.

But this begs the question: where the hell is the fourth film? Will there even BE a fourth film? You'd be inclined to say yes: the third one made a record-breaking amount of money from its premiere week onward, fans (and especially enemies) are clamoring for more.

But here's where it gets shaky: the original plan was for films three and four to be released almost simultaneously, and show the same ending of the story, only seen from two different viewpoints. But for anyone who has seen Evangelion 3.0, this is a bit of a hard sell, as that film suddenly stops smack in the middle of some unintelligible event. And a halted or even non-started production, more than three years after the previous film, somewhat lacks the sense of urgency normally found in an "almost simultaneous" release.

Also, the franchise's creator Anno Hideaki is not exactly known for staying on any kind of schedule. Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo was released way past its deadlines, with rumors of big fights in the studio between Anno and the producers. Currently, Anno has shelved Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0 until he's finished with his live action Godzilla adventure. Who knows what will entice or distract him after that.

Fact is, bar that eensie-weensie preview at the end of film three (see the screenshot above with the equally awkwardly named "EVA Unit 08 + 02"), there is no clue whatsoever that there is a release deadline, any animation, a script, a story, or even a general direction for a fourth film. So our question of the week is: will the Rebuild of Evangelion film series ever get its final segment?

Chime in, in the comments below, and HAVE YOUR SAY!