Published Jun 20, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT
Joshua Edward Ryan Fox is a freelance writer for Screen Rant with a passion for pop culture. Joshua grew up in Connecticut where he developed an appreciation for writing and entertainment and has earned a Master’s degree in professional writing and technical writing. His writing has been quoted by both the anime streaming site Crunchyroll and the anime YouTuber Gigguk.
Sign in to your ScreenRant account
With the success of the Chainsaw Man movie breathing new life into the franchise in 2025, MAPPA was quick to announce that the anime would continue with an adaptation of its next arc, the International Assassins arc. A release window wasn’t given at the time of the initial announcement, but given how great the movie was, there was no reason to think the arc wouldn’t be equally amazing.
Half a year after the initial announcement, Chainsaw Man was featured in a livestream celebrating MAPPA’s 15th anniversary, and while a new teaser trailer for the International Assassins arc was unveiled, it left a lot to be desired. Obviously, it’s disappointing to still not have a release window for the arc, but more than that, a very crucial piece of information about Chainsaw Man’s next story has yet to be revealed, and it’s something that could make or break the anime’s entire future.
Even though an adaptation of Chainsaw Man’s International Assassins arc was announced half a year ago, for some reason, MAPPA has yet to state if it will be a movie or a second season of the anime; with it covering two volumes worth of manga, the arc is of similar length to the Reze arc, so a movie is possible, but that was stated to be a movie from day one, so it’s odd that the International Assassins arc is being treated so differently.
The president of one of anime’s biggest studios, MAPPA, claims that one of their works embodies the reason he and the studio make anime.
While the specific way the International Assassins arc is adapted might not seem like an issue, it’s actually very important. The Reze arc worked as a movie because it was a fairly linear and fast-paced story, but the International Assassins arc has far more moving parts as it introduces more characters and worldbuilding, so it might be harder to adapt it in a way that maintains the arc’s good pacing as a movie compared to making it a season of television.
The fact that it could be a movie at all is also a problem. As great as anime films like Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc and Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle were, they’ve set a bad precedent for anime almost being obligated to turn their biggest arcs into movies, and with how selective movie theaters are with anime movies, that makes it hard for many fans to follow along with their favorite stories. Granted, publishers have gotten better at giving anime movies wide releases, but it could still be a problem, so hopefully MAPPA clarifies the arc’s format sometime soon.
It’s incredibly odd that the exact format of Chainsaw Man’s next arc hasn’t been explained, especially with how important the arc is for the anime’s future. After years of Chainsaw Man’s reputation slowly dwindling because of the manga’s increasingly divisive reputation, it was only the success of the movie that made the series truly popular again; even with Chainsaw Man’s infamous ending, there’s still a lot of positive momentum for the series, so if the International Assassins arc isn’t a hit, then it will be that much easier for Chainsaw Man to hit new lows in popularity.
With the great fights centered around characters like Yoshida, Quanxi, and the Darkness Devil, and how well it sets the stage for the final arcs of part 1 with Makima and the Gun Devil, Chainsaw Man’s International Assassins arc is a phenomenal story arc, and it deserves a good adaptation to bring out the best of its story. Because of that, it makes a huge difference whether Chainsaw Man’s next arc will be a movie or a season of television, and the sooner fans get a clear answer on that, the better.
](/db/tv-show/chainsaw-man/)
](/tag/animation/)
Action & Adventure
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
](/tag/horror/)
TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TVh, TVQ, TSC