The wildly popular Attack on Titan will ends its run with a fourth and final season set to debut in Fall 2020. Premiering in 2013, the anime quickly became a phenomenon due to its harsh setting, intense violence, and willingness to kill off major characters. The third season recently aired its final episode, and it featured a hint of things to come.
The series is based on the manga by Hajime Isayama. Both the manga and the anime adaptation are set in a dystopian world in which humanity is forced to live in walled cities to avoid the threat of being eaten by giant humanoid creatures called Titans. Humanity's only chance of survival rests with the military and the specialized gear they use to swing through the air to fight the hulking Titans. The series begins when a Titan attack destroys one of the walls protecting humanity and follows three childhood friends, Eren, Mikasa, and Armin, as they grow from scared orphans to capable military warriors who fight to end the threat of Titans once and for all.
The teaser for the final season premiered during the season three finale, and it has since been posted on fan pages on Twitter. The 15-second long teaser features a voiceover from Mikasa imploring Eren to come home and ends with a shot of an older Eren. Fans of the manga will recognize the significance of the image and the words being spoken, but the most standout moment is the confirmation that it will be the show's final season. This coincides with recent news that the manga, which has been running since 2009, is entering its final story arc as well.
The third season answered some of the biggest questions in the series. From the images shown in the teaser, fans can assume the fourth season will continue moving toward the same end game as the manga. Isayama has sketched out what he believes will be the final panels of the manga. With some pivotal moments still to be covered by the series, there is a looming question of how closely the anime ending will resemble the eventual manga ending.
Even with the anime, and possibly the manga, ending soon, Attack on Titan will still be a massive property. It has already been adapted into multiple video games and a live-action film, and Warner Bros. is also developing its own live-action film adaptation of the series to be helmed by IT director Andy Muschietti. The gruesome story of Eren and his friends may be in its final act, but Attack on Titan has already solidified its position as one of the most popular, most streamed, and most enduring anime of the decade.
Attack on Titan season 4 is set to begin in Fall 2020.
Source: Attack on Titan Wiki