Evagelion on the Big Screen?

This movie deal has been kicking around for a while now (here's a link to animenewsnetwork's information page on the proposed film: http://animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=3123). As you note, Evangelion is an incredibly rich and powerful dramatic work that extends over 26 episodes. For various reasons that I also won't go into, I have a conflicted and extremely complex relationship with this series (centering around some ethical issues I have with the final treatment of the characters by the series' creator, Hideaki Anno). It is perhaps a testament to the series' greatness that it can inspire these types of feelings and reactions within me (and, from what I've been able to gather) and many others.

In any event, I have serious concerns (maybe fears is a better word) about a live-action adaptation of the series. I have no doubt that we're at that point in the development of CGI and special effects that such an adaptation (on the technical side of things) is now possible. But the series has nuances to it, whole tangential lines of plot development that will clearly be lost in a film adaption. And there are also very central overdetermined themes of sexuality, sexual desire, and sexual repression in the series that I can't imagine will make the transition to a live action film directed primarily for a Western audience (e.g., the multi-vectored relationships of Rei Ayanami, Shinji Ikari, Misato Katsuragi [voiced in the US dub by a spectacular Allison Keith], and Asuka Langley Sohryu).

My preference would be that they not try to make this happen, that they leave the series (which is visually spectacular) alone on its own merits.

BTW -- RahXephon is another mecha series that people should consider watching along with Evangelion (I personally prefer it to Evangelion, but realize that opinion can get you excommunicated in some anime fan circles). It too is a rich and serious exploration of the human condition, and a great anime series with wonderful art with compelling characters and a wonderful storyline (and the English dub, featuring a great Monica Rial as Haruka Shitow, is particularly well done by ADV).

cel

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Here's a good question:
Who would they cast in this movie?

Here's my wagers so far:

Shinji = Haley Joel Osment
Asuka = Emma Watson (Hermione from the Harry Potter movies - she can do the snotty thing, just a question of can she break into German when she gets pissed.)
Rei = if Natalie Portman was still 12 years old and could be as creepy as she was in the profesional, and they dyed her hair blue/white, then she'd be perfect. Being that she is older now, now sux at acting (watch star wars ep. 1-3), etc; I'm open to other suggestions for Rei.
Kaji = Jude Law / Brad Pitt (come on, the pure role of kaji was to make girls go "OOOOOOOH!" - my pics speak for themselves)

Please, throw in some alternate choices or additional casting ideas.

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I dont even see how this would work as a 2 or even 3 hour jackson esque special edition DVD. The number of angels is significant, you cant just drop a few to make it fit the time restraints. Asuka's backstory, Shinji's backstory would take whole movies on their own. I think we'll see a dragonball movie before we see this.

*ducks*

:)

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First thing first.
Every EVA fan knows Peter Jackeson is going to really mess the series up. The character designs already look horrific, non-traditional, and do not look like any character thusfar. Secondly, the series is completed. There is nothing left to add on! What do you see, WETA? There is nothing, except for a mind*$#%@*. Whattabout Anno? Does he have any feeling about this!? Anno Hideaki is attributed to this series, possibly the best anime of the 20th Century. Well???
-Morris Levy, Avid EVA fan

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