At Jump Festa 2026, the Chainsaw Man franchise finally offered a real look at where the anime is heading after the runaway success of the Reze Arc movie. And it wasn’t a minor update. The next chapter is official: the Assassins Arc is being animated.
The Assassins Arc reveal came via a new trailer and key visual shared through the anime’s official channels. It’s brief, just over a minute, but dense. Ominous, too. Familiar imagery returns, Makima, alone, framed in silence before the tone shifts. The world feels larger, more dangerous. The balance of power is clearly changing.
This arc effectively acts as a continuation of the Reze Arc, pushing the story deeper into Tatsuki Fujimoto’s most chaotic territory. Darkness Devil. Quanxi. Santa Claus. And yes, it’s the unsettling version fans know is coming. The one that doesn’t ease you in.
What stands out is how close this feels to the heart of Part 1. Loss is no longer a threat; it’s inevitable. Denji and those around him are heading toward a stretch of the story defined by brutal consequences, where victories are paid for in blood and grief. The visuals hint at that escalation, with Devils and Fiends growing more grotesque and overwhelming by the scene.
The newly revealed poster leans into that unease. Denji appears trapped, watched closely by Makima, while new figures loom in the background. Among them are the American assassins, Quanxi, and Santa Claus — a character reimagined here as something far more disturbing than the name suggests.
Santa Claus, operating as a hive mind linked to the Doll Devil and empowered by other Devils, signals where the story is heading next. This is where Primal Fears begin to take center stage. Where Public Safety’s authority is tested, and possibly exposed.
For fans waiting on confirmation of the anime’s future, this wasn’t just reassurance. It was a statement. Chainsaw Man isn’t slowing down. If anything, it’s about to get much darker.