On February 17th, Shin Seiki Evangelion (Neon Genesis Evangelion) creator Anno Hideaki made a statement in the form of a movie poster that appeared in theatres all over Japan. The announcement was also posted on the new Evangelion movie and Yahoo! Japan portal sites for the film, which also launched on Friday.

A translation of the entire announcement is as follows:

Many different desires are motivating us to create the new "Evangelion" film.

The desire to portray my sincere feelings on film.
The desire to share, with an audience, the embodiment of image, the diversity of expressions, and the detailed portrayal of emotions that animation offers.
The desire to connect today's exhausted Japanese animation [industry] to the future.
The desire to fight the continuing trend of stagnation in anime.
The desire to support the strength of heart that exists in the world.

Finally, the desire to have these wishes be realized.

For these purposes, we used the best methods available to us to make another Evangelion film.
Many times we wondered, "It's a title that's more than 10 years old. Why now?"
"Eva is too old", we felt.
However, over the past 12 years, there has been no anime newer than Eva.

Specifically, among the stagnant mood of the present day, it is the portrayal of will - not technology - that is most important.
To support the fans that support animation, we felt that a work that would appeal to middle and high school-aged men, who quickly grow away from Anime, was necessary.
When we decided that we wanted to something to support the anime [industry] of today, the determination to return to this title was strong.

As the creator of this project, [I assure you that] a very new-feeling Evangelion world has beeen constructed.
For this purpose, we are not returning to our roots at Gainax. I have set up a production company and studio, and it is in this new setting that we will start again.
Without looking back, without admiration for the circumstances, we aim to walk towards the future.
Thankfully, we have gathered staff from the old series, new staff, and many other fantastic staff to work on this series.
We realize that we are creating something that will be better than the last series.

”Eva" is a story that repeats.
It is a story where the main character witnesses many horrors with his own eyes, but still tries to stand up again.
It is a story of will; a story of moving forward, if only just a little.
It is a story of fear, where someone who must face indefinite solitude fears reaching out to others, but still wants to try.
We hope that you look forward to the 4 new retellings of this story.

In closing, it is also our job to provide a service to our customers.
Although it seems obvious, we aim to create a form of entertainment that anyone can look forward to; one that people who have never seen Evangelion can easily adjust to, one that can engage audiences as a movie for theatres, and one that produces a new understanding of the world.

This fall, we hope you can join us.

Creator/General Director, Anno Hideaki

I'm kind of curious what a non-GAINAX Eva would look like myself.

In news regarding the animated tetralogy of new NGE stuff:

Tiffany Grant (Asuka's VA) is very interested in the project. (YES!)

On September 9, 2006, GAINAX's official website confirmed that "Rebuild of Evangelion" will consist of four movies. The first three movies will be an alternate retelling of the TV series (including many new scenes, settings, backgrounds, characters), and the fourth movie will be a completely new conclusion to the story. Hideaki Anno will write the scenario for the first movie and will be the general director and manager for the entire project. Kazuya Tsurumaki will direct the movies while Yoshiyuki Sadamoto will provide character designs and Ikuto Yamashita will provide mechanical designs. Shinji Higuchi will provide storyboards for the first movie. It is reported that the first film will launch in September 1st, 2007, the second in January 2008, and the two final movies will be shown together in Summer 2008. [2]

According to an article in the February 2007 issue of Newtype USA, the first movie will end with Operation Yashima, an incident that takes place during Episode 6 of the original Evangelion TV series. The article also states that a brand new character to the Evangelion universe will be introduced in the second installment and that some of the differences between the original series and the new movies will take advantage of 3D CG technology not available when the series was produced back in 1995. Other differences will include new NERV and SEELE emblems (a partially eaten apple and an apple with a serpent, respectively).

The May 2007 issue of Monthly Shonen Ace reports that the official title of first movie is "EVA:1.0 YOU ARE (NOT) ALONE".

At Toy Fair 2007, it was announced that the first ever licensed Stikfas would be produced for Rebuild of Evangelion.

Ultra-Mecha-Streisand-Necro Bump to inform you guys that Rebuild of Evangelion 1.0 (the first of a quartet) is showing in theaters during September and October:

You see when/if it's showing around you here:
http://www.funimationfilms.com/events.html

It looks like all the remaining Canadian showings are the week of September 30th

So I saw it last night with some friend. They changed up the order of the angels, and the last one in 1.0 is also entirely CG for effect (it can change its form into various crystalline, geometric shapes). Toji is now voiced by Yusuke from Yu Yu Hakusho and Kensuke is voiced by somebody else as well (the only role that comes to mind are the twins from Ouran Host Club). The movie was done very well with some new tweaks like Shinji breaking out a fucking gattling gun against the 4th angel (the one that looks like a cross between an octopus and a horseshoe crab). You see Kaworu at the end of the movie and staying after the credits rewards you with the usual preview for the next movie with Misato promising "lots more fan service" as usual.