2009, the project is considered to be in "development hell", as a director has yet to become available or announced officially. In a panel discussion at Tekkoshocon on April 2, 2006 featuring Matt Greenfield and wife Tiffany Grant, many aspects of the project were revealed. Greenfield recalled that Weta approached ADV about a live-action Eva movie after completing work on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, but work was delayed by King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia. It was revealed that three described "A-list" directors and several celebrities had approached the project, rather than the other way around, and the slug script was written by a writer of several other well-known science fiction movies (though this is subject to be rewritten and tailored to the director's vision). Greenfield also reiterated his belief that they did not want to make the movie for profit, but because they wanted to do it and have it done right (as with the Lord of the Rings trilogy), and promised effort toward a trilogy of Evangelion films (as opposed to trying to condense the story into one film and lose vast amounts of material), similar again to the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Beyond these official announcements and some concept art produced by Weta Workshop,little or no more information about the film(s) has been made available. At Anime Expo 2008, ADV founders Matt Greenfield and John Ledford, in response to a question over the progress of the live-action film, revealed they had hired the producer for Appleseed Ex Machina, John Wu, and pitched the idea to other producers such as Jerry Bruckheimer and Steven Spielberg.They went on to say that interest in the project had been boosted by the success of the 2007 film Transformers.

In an Evangelion panel at the Ohayocon anime convention in Columbus Ohio on January 30, ADV director Matt Greenfield announced that several U.S. studios are competing for final rights to the project, meaning that actual production should begin soon. Matt Greenfield estimates that an official announcement, including naming the studio, the director, and perhaps casting information, would be made within the next 9 months. During the opening ceremonies when ADV head Matt Greenfield was introduced, someone in the crowd shouted a question about whether or not fans would ever see the long-promised live-action Neon Genesis Evangelion movie. "Soon, and I'm not kidding" was Mr. Greenfield's response. He clarified a bit later that evening during an Evangelion panel, saying that the closer he gets to sealing the deal, the less he can say anything about it.
The current status of the film is unknown following the sudden collapse and asset sale of A.D. Vision on September 1, 2009; producer Joseph Chou said in February 2010 that the project was still active, and delays owed more to the general deterioration of the US anime market than to ADV's internal issues. John Ledford. a co-founder of ADV Films is still attached to the film.

wow..sugoi! looking forward to it!