My Chemical Romance has partnered with visual artist Lauren Tsai to release a new short film titled Prelude to The End. Produced by Tsai's independent studio, UNREAL INC., the audio-video project marks the 20th anniversary of the band's landmark album, The Black Parade. The work fuses imagery from Tsai's previous short film, The Dying World, with the album's opening track, "The End."
The film features voice contributions from Billie Eilish, Phoebe Bridgers, Hideo Kojima, and John C. McGinley. The narrative follows Astrid, a student at a peculiar New England boarding school who enters a world of forgotten ideas after authority figures discard her cherished sketchbook. Tsai voices the lead character herself, while Eilish plays her friend and Bridgers portrays her sister. Additionally, Kojima lends his voice to a teacher, and McGinley plays the school's imposing dean.
For Tsai, this collaboration represents a full-circle moment after growing up creating animated fan videos for My Chemical Romance songs. She previously debuted The Dying World at the 2025 Annecy Film Festival before developing it into a multimedia project. Her other directing credits include the music video for boygenius' "Cool About It." In a statement, Tsai described the project as an absolute dream, expressing deep respect for the band and Gerard Way's creative legacy.
Prelude to The End will screen at the final two performances of the US leg of The Black Parade Tour. These shows are scheduled to take place at the Hollywood Bowl on October 30th and 31st. Following these dates, the band will continue the concert series in Asia, beginning November 7th in South Korea.
Sources: Consequence.