Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood Warwon’t return until 2026, but fans can already expect the story to change in one major way. After months of speculation, it was confirmed at Anime Expo 2025 thatBleach: Thousand-Year Blood War’s final season has been delayed to 2026, and as disappointing as that might be, it’s the best option for maintaining the quality that has defined the revival from day one.
Even withBleachnot returning until 2026, there’s one massive change fans can be excited about.In an interview with character designer Masashi Kudo, Kudo commented on how series creator Tite Kubo was, once again, adding in content that wasn’t in the manga, and he even went so far as to say thatBleach: Thousand-Year Blood War’s final season will not just have new scenes, but new characters, as well.
This was the case up until this part, but with anime-only scenes… For example, Kubo-sensei might have had a scene in mind but didn’t include it in the manga. Now, we’ll have more of those scenes and new aspects. I think they’re something worth being excited about. I think even those who read Bleach back in Shonen Jump will have some new discoveries to look forward to… like new characters. Yes, you’ll definitely get to see some of them.
There are plenty of ways that could be handled, but whatever ends up happening, it leavesBleach: Thousand-Year Blood War’s final season with more hype than ever.
Which New Characters Could Appear In Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War’s Finale?
Who Might Show Up At The End Of The Bleach Anime?
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood Warseason 4will introduce new characters, and there are plenty of great options to choose from. For starters, a major criticism of the manga’s final arc was how quickly it dropped the subplot of Tier Halibel being captured by the Wandenreich, so the anime could fix that by having her be rescued to help with the final battle. Fellow Espadas Grimmjow and Nel are also involved in the final battle, so it would make sense to add Halibel into the mix, as well.
Another idea could be adding characters from the light novels to the anime. While there isn’t time forBleach’s sequel story,Can’t Fear Your Own World, to be adapted into season 4, the anime has already foreshadowed its lore and general events multiple times, so season 4 could take things further and give characters like Tokinada, Aura, and Hikone small cameos to set up a full-fledged adaptation of the story.
The best option, of course, would be characters completely new toBleach, entirely. The best part about the changesBleach: Thousand-Year Blood Warmakes to the manga is how it sends even experienced fans through a loop, so rather than just providing people with some fanservice, it would make more sense for Tite Kubo to get as crazy as possible with the incoming changes. All of that is hypothetical, of course, but with how well it’s worked out so far, it would still be great to see.
Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War’s Final Installment Will Be The Biggest Yet
Why Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Is Still Plenty Exciting
Even without the promise of new characters, everything aboutBleach’s finale is nothing but exciting. With Tite Kubo still involved in production and the staff taking the time to make sure it will look as good as possible,everything surrounding the production ofBleach: Thousand-Year Blood War’s final season suggests that it will be an amazing finale, even with the delay. The idea of new characters being added only takes that further, and it will be great to see whatBleach: Thousand-Year Blood Warultimately does with it all.
