This Yoko Taro guy. What a card. Never know when the next bit of canonical story is going to drop in a formal game, a television show or a banana sticker. As the creator of the Nier games ventures forward into directing an upcoming run on Neon Genesis Evangelion, he’s going to be keeping fans of the series on their toes. During his stop in Saitama, Canadian musician The Weeknd debuted a new song dedicated to the legendary anime. Keeping things interesting, the debut was joined by visuals created by Taro himself.
Presented by YOKO TARO ft. YOKO TAKAHASHI pic.twitter.com/a8wUBHV7k6
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) September 19, 2026
On Saturday Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye debuted a new track. Unnamed, it takes plenty of inspiration from Neon Genesis Evangelion, including samples from its iconic theme Cruel Angel’s Thesis and a feature from its singer Yoko Takahashi. Adding to the flashing intensity are visuals directed by Yoko Taro, who announced his Evangelion takeover back in July. While the montage contains existing footage from the anime, it also includes seemingly original material, floating neat questions about the anticipated series.
With similar poetic copy across the screen as the previous teaser, it raises the possibility we just caught a new glimpse of Taro’s upcoming series in a very strange manner. Well, strange for most. Likewise, the video includes a still of Eva Unit-01 staring down Nier: Automata characters 2B and 9S. And while I’d like to tell you that probably doesn’t mean Taro’s idiosyncratic projects will be crossing over, you really, really never know with this guy.
If I were a betting man, I think it’d be safe to wager that some of The Weeknd’s music will emerge in the new Evangelion series. Through the summer, Tesfaye has been grinding shoulders with many game making legends, including FromSoft’s Hidetaka Miyazaki, Grasshopper’s Goichi Suda, a private demo of Persona 6 and fan art from Final Fantasy dream weaver Yoshitaka Amano. Whether this campaign of fandom is mounting towards a new project, or merely passion spilling out of the tube, has yet to be seen. Maybe I’m just a little itchy about it because Tesfaye has even been edging into my weirdo little turf by championing the upcoming About Fishing. Get your own GOTY, Abel, or it’s back to the Yorkdale American Apparel for you!