Keenan McCall
Initially kicking off back in 2020, the climactic conclusion to the hit series has been pacing itself to a pretty substantial degree. To be sure, certain moments have received the attention and high-budget animation they deserve — with Eren’s master plan being unveiled, Levi’s near death, and Floch’s rise and fall ranking among the best — but overall the series has slowed to a crawl in terms of output, chopping itself up into more and more parts to prolong its run.
Now, it’s been revealed that the final season will be split into separate parts again, with the plan being to release Part 3 of the final season as two different cours throughout 2023. This would mean there will be as many sections to the final season as there are other seasons in the series, with a sizable chunk of the show’s episodes taking place in the “Final Season.”
It’s an inverse to the issue presented by the years-long hiatus that occurred between the first and second seasons. Whereas the former left fans desperate to see new episodes and arcs of the series adapted, the series now has fans ready and waiting to see the series conclude after having a single arc hacked up again and again.
One could point to the reason for this being that Attack on Titan is one of the biggest series in the world, and that MAPPA isn’t prepared to let go of the series due to its moneymaking potential. And to a large extent, they’d be right: MAPPA has every incentive out there to keep the series going as long as possible, especially since they’ve been responsible for the entirety of the Final Season’s animation and raking in profits from it as a result.
At the same time though, the studio has shown that they’re dedicated to putting out the best final product they can. In addition to the stellar work shown in the many parts of Attack on Titan Final Season, the studio has also shown their care in handling and adapting Chainsaw Man and Jujutsu Kaisen, with both new and adapted scenes brought to life through careful direction and painstakingly-crafted Sakuga.
The studio’s animators are perfectionists and likely won’t be satisfied unless they can put out the best adaptation possible that will also lead to massive profits for them. To this end, we have a suggestion and a heartfelt plea for MAPPA: Make the finale of Attack on Titan a feature-length film or special.
With so little material left to adapt, an entire second cour seems like it’d only serve to stretch out the series unnecessarily. A film, on the other hand, could hone in on these final moments and give them the intensity they truly deserve. The final battle between Eren and the Scouts, as well as the aftermath of their conflict, could be done in a way that will be that much more memorable on a big screen and would do the series justice as a result.
This isn’t even a new concept for the studio to consider. They already made a film out of the material from Jujutsu Kaisen 0, and were able to expand upon scenes from the manga brilliantly with extended animated scenes for key fights, directorial changes which helped enhance the experience, and so much more. Doing the same with Attack on Titan seems like a no-brainer and like a perfect way to ensure the series finale is made the best it can be.
It would also serve to rake in tons of profits for the studio. Over the past few years, anime film adaptations have repeatedly proven that they can draw large audiences across the world. We saw it with Ufotable’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – Mugen Train film back in 2020 and 2021, and we saw it again in 2022 via the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 film.
Given its popularity and the hype around its conclusion, there’s little doubt an Attack on Titan movie created around its finale would be no exception to this pattern. It could easily draw audiences both in Japan and abroad, rising to become a global megahit on par with or exceeding the examples above.
Obviously, this all hinges on whether or not MAPPA has already planned out episodes for the second cour of Attack on Titan: Final Season’s third part. If they have, then we’ll have to live with however they choose to adapt the finale.
If there’s still a chance to adjust course for the ending of the series, though, we’d firmly stand by making a film to see the series off with. Given fans have stuck around no matter how much the final season has been prolonged, we have little doubt they’d feel the same way.
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