THE DROP
My Chemical Romance and visual artist Lauren Tsai dropped an animated short film called Prelude To The End, built around "The End." from The Black Parade *, †, §. Tsai grew up making animated fan videos set to MCR songs, so this is a fan who got the call *, †.
WHAT TO KNOW
- Released October 30, 2026, days after The Black Parade 20th anniversary edition ‡, §.
- Voice cast: Tsai as lead character Astrid, Billie Eilish as her friend, Phoebe Bridgers as her sister, Hideo Kojima as the Teacher, John C. McGinley as the Dean *, †.
- It merges Tsai's project The Dying World, which premiered at the 2025 Annecy Film Festival, with MCR's mythology *, §.
- The soundtrack also carries a live recording of Pascal Dusapin's Flying River, Violin Concerto by the Utopia Orchestra †, §.
- The school is named Paper Academy, which Stereogum notes echoes The Paper Kingdom, the band's unfinished pre-split album. Nothing is confirmed §.
- Screening before the final two Hollywood Bowl shows on October 30 and 31 *, §.
THE TAKE
Anniversary cash-ins usually mean a slipmat and a bonus track, so handing the keys to an artist with her own fully built world is a far better instinct than another remaster. Tsai said it was an honor that Gerard found inspiration in a world she created, after years of admiring the worlds he built *, †, and that trade is the whole point here. The Paper Academy name is probably a coincidence, but MCR fans have decoded less.
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