Made in Abyss is back on Friday 23 October 2026, and the shape of the return is the news. This is not season 3. It is a film, the first part of a theatrical series, and the official Japanese title says so on the poster: Theatrical Series Part 1, Made in Abyss: Awakening Mystery.
Four years after The Golden City of the Scorching Sun ended, Riko, Reg and Nanachi finally go past the sixth layer. Below is the confirmed date, the full staff and cast from the official site, the two new characters nobody has met yet, and the honest answer on an English language release.
Made in Abyss: Awakening Mystery release date
The film opens in Japanese cinemas on 23 October 2026. Kadokawa confirmed the date alongside the trailer and the cast in August, and the official site has been running advance ticket sales since then.
| Japanese release | Friday 23 October 2026 |
| Japanese title | 劇場シリーズ【第一部】メイドインアビス 目覚める神秘 |
| Format | Theatrical film, part one of a series |
| Studio | Kinema Citrus |
| Director | Masayuki Kojima |
| International release | Not announced |
Nobody should plan around an overseas date yet, because there is not one. No distributor has announced a release outside Japan. The franchise has a history here that is worth knowing: Dawn of the Deep Soul opened in Japan in January 2020 and did not reach most other countries until much later that year, and the two compilation films before it travelled slowly as well.
Why it is a film and not a season 3
The official site files this under a theatrical series and labels it part one, so more films are planned. Anime News Network has reported it as the first of a film trilogy.
Read against the way the production has been running all year, that choice makes sense. Through 2026 the series has been in cinemas almost continuously, with the two compilation films revived in May, Dawn of the Deep Soul back in August, and both halves of The Golden City of the Scorching Sun given a theatrical run in September and October. The audience has been pulled into cinemas for six months to arrive at this.
Where the story picks up
Straight after the sixth layer. The village of the Hollows collapsed under Faputa’s wish, Prushka is a white whistle in Riko’s hand, and the group talked Faputa into coming with them toward the seventh layer. That is exactly where the official introduction leaves off, which tells you where the film starts.
The seventh layer is the one the manga has been building toward since the beginning. If the film covers it properly, this is the part of the story people have spent years waiting to see animated.
Two new characters
The official character page lists six, and two of them are new to the anime.
- Tepaste, voiced by Sumire Morohoshi. She was travelling with the senior delver Clavaly, became separated from him, and then ran into a delving party called the Curse Warding Fleet.
- Clavaly, voiced by Takanori Hoshino. A black whistle who prefers to work alone, with a greeting of his own that he uses in every situation.
The Curse Warding Fleet is the detail to hold on to. A named delving party operating this deep, introduced through a character who stumbles into it, is not how this series usually brings people on stage.
Staff and cast
The core is intact. Masayuki Kojima directs again, Kinema Citrus animates again, and Kevin Penkin writes the music again. The notable change is on the script, where Hideyuki Kurata takes over series writing.
| Original work | Akihito Tsukushi, serialised by Takeshobo |
| Director | Masayuki Kojima |
| Script | Hideyuki Kurata |
| Character design | Yuka Kuroda and Kazuchika Kise of Production I.G |
| Art direction | Osamu Masuyama, Hikaru Sekiguchi, Asaki Nakamura |
| Music | Kevin Penkin |
| Animation production | Kinema Citrus |
The returning cast is unchanged: Miyu Tomita as Riko, Mariya Ise as Reg, Shiori Izawa as Nanachi and Misaki Kuno as Faputa.
The theme song is Kevin Penkin and Mori Calliope
“Chain of the Abyss” is performed by Kevin Penkin featuring Mori Calliope, with lyrics by both and composition and arrangement by Penkin. Pairing this score with a virtual artist who charts on Billboard is a reach outside the usual audience, and for a series whose music is half its reputation, it is a bolder move than it first looks.
Original Soundtrack 4 arrives the same day as the film, 23 October, from KADOKAWA, with twenty tracks planned including the theme.
What to watch before it
The film continues directly from the second television season, so the watch order matters more here than in most franchises.
- Season 1, 2017, thirteen episodes.
- Dawn of the Deep Soul, the 2020 film, which covers the fifth layer and is not optional.
- The Golden City of the Scorching Sun, 2022, twelve episodes, the sixth layer.
The two compilation films from 2019 recap season 1 and can be swapped in for it, but nothing recaps the second season, so that one has to be watched properly.
Quick answers
When does it come out? 23 October 2026 in Japanese cinemas.
Is this Made in Abyss season 3? No. It is part one of a theatrical film series.
Will it stream? Nothing has been announced. Expect the Japanese cinema run first.
Is there an international release date? No distributor has announced one.
Do I need to have seen season 2? Yes. The film opens where it ended.
Is Kevin Penkin back? Yes, and he performs the theme song with Mori Calliope.
Our take
Splitting the seventh layer across films rather than a television season is the right call for this story, because the Abyss has always worked best when it has room to sit on a single image for a long time. The risk is the wait between parts, and no second date exists yet.
We will update this guide when an international release is announced. In the meantime, our October 2026 anime premieres guide covers everything else this month, and the weekly schedule tracks what is airing now.
Dates and listings can change. This guide was checked against the official Made in Abyss film site, Anime News Network and AniList on 12 October 2026.
