Gen Urobuchi is known globally for traumatizing audiences with dark twists and fateful destinies, but this time the brakes had to be applied in time. The acclaimed writer revealed in a recent interview that the anticipated film Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Walpurgisnacht Rising originally featured a much crueler and devastating ending, which had to be modified during production to offer a greater sense of salvation and hope.

Warning, the following text may contain spoilers for the new Puella Magi Madoka Magica film.

The project, a direct sequel to the 2013 film Rebellion, premiered in Japanese cinemas on August 28, 2026 after several years of anticipation and delays. Urobuchi explained that he agreed to write the script nearly a decade ago, shortly after completing his work on Kamen Rider Gaim. At that time, the creative team at Gekidan Inu Curry presented him with a notebook filled with ideas and visual concepts containing around 90 percent of the key plot elements, leaving him to structure the story and draft the final climax.

However, after reviewing the first draft, director Akiyuki Shinbo felt the proposal was too dark even by the franchise’s usual standards. Although at one point it was considered bringing in another writer to rewrite everything from scratch, the team decided to return to Urobuchi’s outline while adjusting the ending. The screenwriter himself admitted that his natural habit has always been to eliminate characters and remove them from the narrative, but he appreciated the team lowering the intensity of the suffering, confirming that the final version is much more bearable without losing emotional impact.

About Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Puella Magi Madoka Magica is an original magical girl franchise created by the collective Magica Quartet, consisting of director Akiyuki Shinbo, screenwriter Gen Urobuchi, character designer Ume Aoki, and the animation studio Shaft. Originally aired in 2011, the series revolutionized Japanese animation by subverting traditional genre tropes with a dark narrative focused on Machiavellian contracts, witches, and inevitable tragedies.

The plot follows Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki, two high school students who encounter Kyubey, a mysterious creature that offers to grant any wish in exchange for becoming magical girls and fighting terrifying entities known as witches. However, the arrival of the mysterious transfer student Homura Akemi reveals the bitter price hidden in that pact and the endless cycle of despair they are destined for.

Do you think it was a good decision to soften Gen Urobuchi’s ending, or did you prefer a completely devastating conclusion?