It has been more than a year since the second season of the highly popular manga turned anime television series, "Tokyo Ghoul," was televised, which is why fans of the series have long been clamouring for any updates regarding the return of its third season. Previous reports have claimed that the third season was on track for a late 2016 release, but with the absence of any updates, fans are beginning to think that an airing this year is likely not happening.

Several reports have speculated that numerous factors may be to blame for the delay of the release of the anime's third season and that fans would likely still have to wait a few more months before finally finding out the next set of events that will be transpiring in the new episodes.

According to a report from Saikoplus, the anime is likely taking the back seat in the production process as the studio and writers responsible for it have to now focus on the upcoming release of the franchise's planned live-action movie adaptation. The upcoming live action movie, which will star Masataka Kubota as Ken Kaneki and Fumika Shimizu as Touka Kirishima, is aimed to be aired early next year. With the movie's planned schedule, producers are likely now focused on finishing the screenwriting for the film.

Another reason for the anime's delay is reportedly due to its simple lack of material to encompass an entire new season. Reports have revealed that the manga itself is only a few chapters ahead of the anime, which means that there has to be more chapters published before the anime can move forward.

Despite the disheartening news regarding the show's third season, fans are still very much anticipating its release. Producers of the show have promised fans that they would be learning from their mistakes with the second season and endeavour to make the third season stay true to the manga it is based on.