Will there be ‘The Promised Neverland’ season 3?

Two seasons of The Promised Neverland have been adapted from manga, to anime. But have we reached the end of the orphan saga, or are more animated adventures adapted from the books in the works? Heads up — spoilers from the anime are incoming!

Brought to life by CloverWorks, The Promised Neverland’s first season came out in early 2019, and season 2 followed two years later. Fast forward to Fall 2024; we’re still sitting at just 23 episodes. Well, that’s seemingly where the anime’s run finished. Considering how season 2 ended, and that Kaiu Shirai’s manga is over, The Promised Neverland likely will never receive season 3.

So, why is that? Let’s take a look.

Season 1 was a slam-dunk for CloverWorks. They included the first two arcs of the manga — The Promised Neverland has 181 chapters dispersed into 20 volumes. The story opens up with a gripping hook, as a group of orphans discover they’re being raised on a farm as delicious meals for human-hungry demons. Season 1 follows main protagonists Emma, Norman, and Ray as they plot a way to escape the grips of their orphan mom and caretaker, Isabella.

Its premise was fresh, the world-building marinated in mystery, and the characters were likable enough. Episode 12 wrapped with the orphans free from the farm’s clutches and prepared to take on the unknown, and whoever — or whatever — threatened them.

Anime-only fans clamored for season 2 for two years. But, when it finally came out, the show dropped the ball in a big way. Most of The Promised Neverland’s arcs were left on the cutting-room floor or extremely abbreviated. Instead of 12 episodes, season 2 only received 11 and besides the first few episodes, it felt like CloverWofrks gave us a PowerPoint presentation — especially with the abysmal final episode.

After surviving for more than a year away while hiding among demons, the season ends with Emma and her crew (along with their new demon friends) returning to the farm and toppling its gatekeeper, Peter Ratri. They find the entrance to the human world, but the main squad of protagonists decides to stay behind to free more humans, as well as liberating demons from their human-devouring needs.

That’s when CloverWorks decided to close out the finale with a slideshow of massively important events that ended with a new “promise” being made between humans and demons. Emma, Ray, and Norman then meet up with their friends in the human world, and the curtains close.

To say season 2 was disappointing is an understatement. It looks like CloverWorks yadda-yadda’d the entire 11-episode run so they could move on from The Promised Neverland. They inadequately covered the final chapters and arcs, wholly skipping some.

Because it ended with the new promise and Emma reuniting with the other children, the adaptation reached the finish line. So, if there were to be a season 3, it’d have to cover plot points that happened before season 2’s final scene, which is unlikely, but not impossible. So, will that happen? I wouldn’t bet on it.