With the end of the Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld last year, it concluded by making sure we know there’s more coming. And that’s in the form of the Sword Art Online: Progressive, which is basically a retelling in a cleaned-up fashion of the original story. The project is a film due out in 2021 that will be called Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night.
Now, it was revealed during the Anime Expo Lite panel at Aniplex Online that the film is set for an October 30th, 2021 release in Japan. They showcased a new poster that you can see below as well.
The film has Ayako Kawano directing it with Kento Toya handling the character designs for it. A-1 Pictures is on board for the animation production. It’ll feature the return of Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Kirito and Haruka Tomatsu as Asuna as well.
Check out the new teaser below and the key visual to the right.
The original novels are things that will definitely appeal to two different types of fans with an overlap; one are those that enjoy worldbuilding and want to see more of Aincrad explored and characters and stories that were passed over in the original, and those that really enjoy the Kirito and Asuna relationship, which is covered both in-game and in real life more than in the original.
The novels and manga have been picked up and released in North America by Yen Press.
#NEWS Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night announces a new key visual and release date in Japan at Aniplex Online Fest! ✨
More information regarding the U.S. release will be coming soon!
Visit the official English website: https://t.co/TDlogwnrkf pic.twitter.com/pjVOt4I7hy
— Sword Art Online (@SwordArtUSA) July 4, 2021
Check out the official site and Twitter.
Plot Concept: There’s no way to beat this game. The only difference is when and where you die…’ One month has passed since Akihiko Kayaba’s deadly game began, and the body count continues to rise. Two thousand players are already dead. Kirito and Asuna are two very different people, but they both desire to fight alone. Nonetheless, they find themselves drawn together to face challenges from both within and without. Given that the entire virtual world they now live in has been created as a deathtrap, the surviving players of Sword Art Online are starting to get desperate, and desperation makes them dangerous to loners like Kirito and Asuna. As it becomes clear that solitude equals suicide, will the two be able to overcome their differences to find the strength to believe in each other, and in so doing survive? Sword Art Online: Progressive is a new version of the Sword Art Online tale that starts at the beginning of Kirito and Asuna’s epic adventure–on the very first level of the deadly world of Aincrad!
Previous promo:
《アリシゼーション》編の最終話放送直後に公開となった「ソードアート・オンライン プログレッシブ」アニメプロジェクト告知映像はこちら！
YouTube：https://t.co/Ci62vkSWRE
公式サイト：https://t.co/rivYvY6aHD#sao_anime pic.twitter.com/kMT4SPxio1
— アニメ ソードアート・オンライン 公式 (@sao_anime) September 19, 2020
