'Attack on Titan: The Final Season' Just Became Longer Than We Expected — Details on New Episodes

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Attack on Titan.

For something labeled "final," Attack on Titan: The Final Season seems to be going on forever. Eren Jaeger's quest for freedom has reached a violent turning point, putting the entire world in danger. As his former Survey Corps companions deal with the fallout of his actions, there's only so much time left for the story to hit its impending climax. However, the anime is being stretched out for longer than we expected.

The final season takes a darker turn for the already-macabre and violent anime. After discovering that their Titan-infested island home is essentially a prison for Eldians — people with the ability to transform into Titans — Eren and his companions travel across the world to exact revenge against the thriving nations in the outside world. Unfortunately, Eren's rage begins to overtake everything, leading to all-out destruction. How and when will the final act unfold?

Part 2 of The Final Season, released in 2022, sees the cataclysmic catastrophe that is the Rumbling. Triggered by Eren Jaeger, the Rumbling summons an army of Colossal Titans sealed within the citywide walls of Paradis Island. Eren begins leading them on a walk across the world, destroying everything along their path. His former compatriots are forced to deal with the consequences of Eren's decisions as they struggle to keep the city safe while despairing over Eren's apparent betrayal.

Part 1 of The Final Season initially premiered in December 2020 and ended in March 2021. After a lengthy hiatus, Part 2 returned in January 2022, airing weekly installments starting from Jan. 10. The season lasted 12 episodes, ending with a cliffhanger as Eren and the Titans of the Rumbling easily annihilate the military forces that try to stop them.

The story is set to continue in 2023, but the release schedule seeks to make the long "final season" even longer.

In January of this year, it was confirmed that "Part 3" of The Final Season will air on March 3. What's more, this final installment is scheduled to be released in two parts.

The first part will be an hour-long special and is scheduled to air in Japan on March 3. In Japanese, the special is called "Shingeki no Kyōjin: The Final Season Kanketsu-hen (final). But if you want to get technical about it, one could accurately refer to this as Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 3, Part 1.

The second part will be released later in 2023. At the time of this writing, there is no confirmed release date. It is also unknown as to whether or not the second installment will also air as a special.

Given the unorthodox nature of this release, it's difficult to say whether or not the story will wrap up in the way we might expect. The one thing we know for sure is that Attack on Titan seeks to milk its last few moments in the spotlight for everything they're worth.

Attack on Titan: The Final Season will return on March 3. All seasons are currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Hulu.