The final Evangelion film's home video release is coming in March, and with the exciting announcement came another even more intriguing one. Bundled with the Blu-ray will be "Evangelion: 3.0 (-46h)," described as unaired footage that is presumably a new story set in the interim between Evangelion 2.22 and 3.33, specifically in the immediate time before the latter.
Evangelion 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time was released in Japan on March 8, 2021, with the poster declaring, "Bye-bye, All of Evangelion." Fans have said goodbyes more than a few times since, from the international Amazon Prime release to GKids' theatrical release happening right now at the time of writing, but with Eva, there always seems to be something new to be excited for.
The Time-Jump
The only thing longer than the gap between 3.33 and 3.0+1.0 was the in-story gap between the events of 2.22 and 3.33. 14 years passed while Shinji was presumed dead, merged with the LCL in EVA Unit 01's cockpit, and once Shinji woke up, there wasn't a lot of time to dwell on what happened between the films.
There was plenty to set audiences' minds alight with the possibilities, to say nothing of 2.22's own end credits preview, with footage never expanded upon. 3.33 fully immersed the viewer in Shinji's experience and his confusion at the world around him, all in service of making him realize his responsibility for creating it, thus contextualizing his desperation to fix it.
And in the 10 years between the third film and the conclusion, fans weren't too happy about that time jump. For as effective as the focus on Shinji is in hindsight, it robbed a lot of time from the supporting cast, who seemed to change a lot from film to film. Even after 3.0+1.0's satisfying conclusion, there remains a longing to see more of what happened while Shinji slept.
Hell, an entire series could have been made to chronicle the events, not that such a thing would be truly necessary now outside of fleshing out what is otherwise a very complete package. So with the suggestion of more content set before 3.33, there's a whole slew of possibilities, but one that is more likely than most, thanks to a manga from last year.
Evangelion 3.0 (-120min)
On June 12, 2021, audiences in Japan flocked to theaters for a rerelease of 3.0+1.0, titled 3.0+1.01, which featured touched-up visuals. Filmgoers received the manga "3.0 (-120min)," which takes place immediately before the operation seen at the beginning of 3.33; presumably two hours prior if the title is to be taken literally.
It's a short story featuring Asuka and Mari discussing the operation, who should take lead, and whether Shinji might actually be alive to be recovered. It also touches upon Asuka's disdain for her unaging body, with Mari attempting to cheer her up. When it ends, Asuka ends up being the one to lead the operation, and the comic ends where the film begins.
In all likelihood, this new footage being bundled with the Blu-ray might just be the same story as described above. However, the change from "-120min" to "-46h" begs to question. Could the new footage be something of an OVA covering the manga's story, and perhaps even more beforehand?
If the time given in these titles is meant to be taken literally, the short could chronicle the almost two days prior to 3.33's opening. While this might barely scratch the surface of the 14-year time skip, it could offer some compelling insight into the characters before Shinji re-emerged. It could give more moments to Mari or Ritsuko, and perhaps explain how dire things were prior to 3.33.
When Shinji wakes up, WILLE is just beginning to truly amass the strength needed to pose a substantial counterattack against NERV. In 3.0+1.0, it's shown that they established settlements and found ways to counteract the "corization" that turned the world red, but it was mostly about survival.
The first thing Shinji witnesses upon the retrieval of Unit-01, in which he was dormant, is the liftoff of the Wunder, the ship of hope that helps WILLE defeat NERV. Seeing how WILLE functioned prior to possessing such a powerful weapon would be fascinating to see, even if it's only in the background of Asuka's contemplation on life.
Whatever Evangelion 3.0 (-46h) actually turns out to be, it's certainly not the end for Eva, at least not forever. While that might raise red flags for some fans, Hideaki Anno himself has stated that he wishes for younger creators to take Evangelion to new places and expand on it. Similar to Gundam, it would become an evolving media franchise with no one defining entity.
Fans today may not live to see all that it can become, but the franchise has never been one to have a real ending. It ended in 1996, then in 1997, and then in 2021, and it'll probably end some more times before Earth dies. For the Blu-ray of the "conclusion" to the series to tease something new is the most Eva thing the creators could have done.