Bleach Thousand-Year Blood War Part 4 Teaser, Latest News, and Everything We Know So Far

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 4 has been announced following the dramatic ending of part 3, and will represent the final quarter of the Thousand-Year Blood War story arc. With a full 12-13 episodes left and not much story to cover, many fans are expecting some substantial new content to help carry the end of the series to a better resolution than the manga had.

Thousand-Year Blood War began airing in October 2022 with part 1, continued with part 2 in July 2023, and then again with part 3 in October 2024. The anime has closely adapted the story of the manga, but has added new content at various points throughout to help the story flow better and cover fights and scenes that had to be cut from the manga's version of the story. Fans have rejoiced at this added content, believing it enhances the story and helps the rushed manga ending to make more sense. Part 4 is reportedly going to contain the most new content to date, offering the opportunity to reshape the story in unpredictable ways as it comes to a head.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 4 Latest News

A Teaser for Part 4 Was Released

On December 28, 2024, the final two episodes of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 3 were released, and alongside them was the release of a special teaser trailer for part 4. The teaser trailer showcased Ichigo's new Zanpakuto as the two blades came together and transformed into his new Bankai, before showing the Bankai blade cut in half for a split second. It then transitions to a still image of Ichigo looking determined, and then revealed the name for Part 4: "The Calamity." No release date was included in this teaser trailer, unfortunately, so fans still have no idea when to expect the conclusion of Thousand-Year Blood War.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 4 Story

Part 4 Wraps Up Thousand-Year Blood War's Story

The story of Part 4 of Thousand-Year Blood War will revolve almost exclusively around fighting and defeating the seemingly omnipotent Yhwach. There are still a few other enemies left to deal with, most notably Gerard Valkyrie, who was last seen squaring off with the Visored. Uryu is currently facing off with Jugram Haschwalth, and Askin Nakk Le Vaar has also not been completely defeated, so presumably the early episodes of part 4 will deal with finishing these three off before moving on to Yhwach.

According to reports, Tite Kubo has worked closely with Studio Pierrot on Thousand-Year Blood War part 4, meaning that part 4 will include substantial new content--even "whole episodes" of original content. There's absolutely no way to predict what the new content will be, but given that most fans agree that the final chapters of Thousand-Year Blood War are extremely rushed, new content will undoubtedly help the story's pacing and hopefully provide new context for the events that occur, making them a bit more logical and less out-there than how they came across in the manga.

Many fans are hoping that the new content may somehow tie into the "Hell arc," the new storyline which was kicked off by the special one-shot anniversary chapter released in August 2021. There have been a few subtle hints towards the new story already in Thousand-Year Blood War, and since the Hell arc's story directly relates to the fallout of the battle with the Quincy, it only makes sense that there might be some hints towards the future scattered in among the new content. This will have to remain to be seen, however, as there has been no indication of content related to the Hell arc in Part 4 so far.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 4 Characters

A Few More Returning Characters Will Finish Off the Series

While there are no more new characters waiting to be introduced in Thousand-Year Blood War Part 4, the final installment will see the return of a few more figures, most notably among them the Fullbringers Shukuro Tsukishima and Kugo Ginjo. Their presence has been hinted at previously, but the two Fullbringers still have an important role to play in Yhwach's demise. Fans can also expect some characters who've been on the back burner, like Kisuke Urahara, to finally take center stage, revealing his Bankai for the first time. Yoruichi also has a major fight ahead which will see her demonstrate a new form.

Two other characters appeared dramatically at the end of Part 3: Ichigo's father, Isshin Kurosaki, and Uryu's Father, Ryuken Ishida. These two have an absolutely critical role to play in bringing down the Quincy, and will need to meet up with at least one of their sons in order to accomplish their goal. While important, their role is actually quite small, but it is ripe for expansion, so it's hard to say exactly what lies in store for the two fathers. Many fans are hoping to see Isshin make contact with his former subordinates Rangiku and Hitsugaya, while others are hoping that Bleach's dads get a fight scene all their own.

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 4 Has No Release Date Announced

Thousand-Year Blood War Will Return, But When?

At present, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 4: The Calamity has no known release date. If the past is any indication, it could be anywhere from 7 months to a year before Thousand-Year Blood War returns, suggesting a release date in July 2025 at the absolute earliest. More likely, part 4 may premiere in October, just like parts 1 and 3 did, to give the studio the most time to work on the final elements of the story. New content may take a little more time to produce than content directly adapted from the manga, after all, and part 4 is said to have the most new content of any installment of Thousand-Year Blood War so far.

That's all that's known about Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 4, The Calamity, so far. Check back here regularly for news and updates as they're released by Studio Pierrot and other related figures in the future.