Chainsaw Man's Assassins Arc Is Confirmed and in Production. Here's Everything Actually Known

Chainsaw Man's next anime installment has a name, a studio, and a teaser — just not a release date. MAPPA confirmed production on the International Assassins Arc (commonly shortened to the Assassins Arc) at Jump Festa 2026, posting a teaser visual and promotional video via the official Chainsaw Man account that showed the arc's new cast of mercenaries closing in on Denji.

The arc picks up as a direct sequel to Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, adapting manga chapters 53 through 70 — volumes 7 and 8 — and it's widely regarded by readers as the single most unhinged stretch the series has produced, introducing a roster of international assassins hired to kill Denji for his heart. New characters confirmed for the adaptation include Quanxi, Pingtsi, Long, Cosmo, Tsugihagi, Santa Claus, Tolka, and a trio of American mercenaries led by Aldo and Joey — none of whom have cast announcements yet.

The returning main cast is locked in: Kikunosuke Toya as Denji, Tomori Kusunoki as Makima, Shougo Sakata as Aki Hayakawa, Ai Fairouz as Power, Karin Takahashi as Kobeni, Kenjiro Tsuda as Kishibe, and Shiori Izawa as Pochita. MAPPA is producing, promising the same visceral action and cinematic flair as the first season and the Reze Arc film.

What's still genuinely unresolved is format. MAPPA hasn't said whether the Assassins Arc will air as a TV season or get another theatrical release like its predecessor — industry speculation leans toward a television sequel, but that's speculation, not confirmation. Oricon briefly published a report describing it as a theatrical film before quietly editing the claim out, which tells you more about how unsettled the format question still is than it does about the actual answer.

Until MAPPA says otherwise, the honest summary is: the Assassins Arc is real, it's in production, and it's coming — everything past that, including when, is still an open question.