Attack on Titan fans who have caught up with the latest episode of season 4 are getting quite skittish. Understandably so, given that we have just a single episode left until the anime ends. But will episode 87 really be the finale of the story?
The AoT anime has a pacing of adapting 1-2 chapters per episode. By this math, it doesn’t really take a superfan to figure out that episode 87 titled, The Dawn of Humanity, will not be adapting the ending of the manga. The anime of AoT will end with chapter 130, which also has the same title.
But what does this mean for the animation of that bittersweet AoT finale that only manga readers are familiar with? Will there be more AoT after season 4, or will viewers be resigned to simply read the manga instead?
According to most fans – and logic – Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan will be getting a movie after the conclusion of season 4 part 2 of the anime.
Reasons We Should Expect an AoT Movie:
1. Not the end of the series
After episode 86 – Retrospective, which came out on March 21, 2022, it’s clear that the end of the season will not be the end of the series.
Mappa, the Japanese studio adapting the AoT manga, had already announced that there would be 12 episodes in the second instalment of season 4. Most fans had expected that episode 12 of part 2, i.e., episode 87 of season 4, would somehow wrap things up and give us the finale we deserve.
But episode 86 adapts chapter 129 of the manga. If the season finale adapts chapter 130, what happens to the remaining 9.5 chapters?
The only rational explanation is that the creators are aiming for a cinematic climax that would do the series justice.
To be honest, the clues were already there. The last few episodes seemed suspiciously to be dragging themselves – I mean, the manga plotline after chapter 120 is comparatively faster. It was almost like the anime creators were holding back.
I’m not going to spoil anything in this article for the anime-only fans, but the AoT finale battle is GRAND, to say the least. The best way to visually recreate that stunning and emotional finale is to leave viewers with a movie.
2. Delayed season finale
There is another reason some people think that a movie is in works. The finale episode of the final season was recently delayed. It was originally going to be premiered on March 27, but the airdate was pushed to April 3.
Why? Because of a NHK “special programming.” Instead, on March 27, there is going to be an AoT panel at AnimeJapan, the largest anime convention in Japan. It’s not too much of a stretch to assume that these two events are related.
Who knows, perhaps the AoT movie will be announced at the convention!
3. Box-office success of Jujutsu Kaisen 0
Another prominent factor to consider is, well, money. A movie is the most lucrative way to end a series like Attack on Titan; the series has an avid, undying, ever-increasing fan-following – at a global scale.
Recently, 2 other highly popular Shonen series got movie adaptations: Demon Slayer, and Jujutsu Kaisen. Both broke the box office not just in Japan, but also the U.S.
Here’s where it gets interesting: Jujutsu Kaisen is also produced by Mappa. So, we know that Mappa is not exactly an amateur when it comes to big-screen adaptations. If they don’t capitalize on this opportunity, they might actually be losing out on a lot of money.
Although Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is a prequel to the series, we can expect a successful AoT movie finale. The hit series Evangelion actually ended on the big screen as well, and a lot of fans were grateful.
4. Expansion of Mappa
Speaking of the production house, they recently also opened another studio in Osaka. It is said that it will mostly be housing CGI artists in the city who cannot move to Tokyo to continue their designing journeys. Perhaps it is here that the AoT movie will be put together?
Also, when Mappa took over from Wit Studio after Season 3, it was given a more permanent seat in the production committee. In contrast, Wit was just a temporary contractor. As a committee member, Mappa gets to call the shots over the way the story ends.
Although they haven’t exactly confirmed or denied anything, all these hints definitely do seem to add up to something.
When will the AoT movie be released?
If the rumors are true, we might have to wait until Winter 2022, or even the beginning of next year, until the AoT movie is released.
But if Mappa is the studio producing the film, there’s a chance that they have already started working on the movie. If that’s the case, we might hear of the release date the day the last episode comes out, which is on April 3. They might also release some information during the AnimeJapan convention.
Is a season 5 more likely than a movie?
There is a slim chance that we get an Attack on Titan season 5 instead of an Attack on Titan movie. But it is unlikely because the fourth season was titled The Final Season.
Yes, there are people who think we might get a Final Season: Part 3, or as some Redditors humorously put it: The Final Final Season, or even, The Finalest Season.
A television series does spend more time on character developments, arcs, and plot-specifics, especially if it is adapted from a manga or a book.
But it’s not like the movie will be adapting the whole of the Attack on Titan series, just the last 9 chapters. This is a why a movie would be the smart option – and at this point, it frankly seems inevitable.
Has AoT been adapted into a movie before?
Yes, AoT was adapted into an eponymous live-action film that was released in 2015.
Unfortunately, the movie didn’t do that well, even though it created a live-action miniseries with the same actors.
I mean, the film didn’t even feature Levi, who has quite an important part in the manga and the anime.
The reason I am optimistic about an AoT movie is that it will most probably be animated. Further, if it’s by the same production house – Mappa – we won’t even have to worry about it having a different “vibe”. The aesthetics, designs, even voice actors, might remain the same.
All I hope is that the movie, if we do get one, authenticates the multiple plot-twists and climaxes that are highlighted in the manga.
Here’s hoping AoT fans get what they’re hoping for.
About Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. Kodansha publishes it in the Bessatsu Shonen Magazine.
The manga began serialization on September 9th, 2009, and ended on April 9, 2021. It has been compiled into 34 volumes.
Attack on Titan follows humanity settled within three concentric walls to protect themselves from the terrifying titans that prey on them. Eren Yeager is a young boy that believes that a caged life is similar to that of cattle and aspires to go beyond the walls one day, just like his heroes, the Survey Corps. The emergence of a deadly Titan unleashes chaos.
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