During a recent interview, Tomohiko Ito mentioned that the Sword Art Online Movie is currently being story-boarded and the completion of its scenario. He also explained that the movie will feature new characters, as well as ones periphery of the novels. In terms of the plot, he suggested that the story had echos of Avengers: Age of Ultron.
While the movie should please long-standing Sword Art Online fans, Ito says that it will also be accessible to newcomers. With a laugh he explained, they’ll laugh, they’ll cry, it’ll make a good date movie.
In addition to this, last December issue of Kadokawa’s Dengeki G‘s Comic magazine revealed that the upcoming Sword Art Online anime movie will be taking place after the events of the anime adaptation’s Mother’s Rosario arc.
The upcoming anime film based on Reki Kawahara’s Sword Art Online light novel series will have an original story, not adapting of Kawahara’s any previous work. It will be set after the Mother’s Rosario arc, which was the third and final arc to be animated in Sword Art Online II. The arc itself was featured in the light novel’s 7th volume. The first arc in Sword Art Online II was the Phantom Bullet Arc, which was featured in volumes 5-6, and the second arc being the Calibur arc, a side story in the series’ 8th Volume.
The Director of first two seasons, Tomohiko Ito (Silver Spoon, Seikimatsu Occult Gakui), will return to direct the film alongside Anime Character Designer Shingo Adachi (Working!!, Galilei Donna). Reki Kawahara will be writing the movie’s new original story.
The announcement video of the film was also revealed, which outlines the previous anime projects:
Anime visual:
Sword Art Online is a Japanese light novel series written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec. The series takes place in the near-future and focuses on various virtual reality MMORPG worlds. The light novels began publication on ASCII Media Works’ Dengeki Bunko imprint from April 10, 2009, with a spin-off series launching in October 2012. The series has spawned eight manga adaptations published by ASCII Media Works and Kadokawa. The novels and four of the manga adaptations have been licensed for release in North America by Yen Press.
An anime television series produced by A-1 Pictures aired in Japan between July and December 2012. An Extra Edition episode aired on December 31, 2013, and a second anime series, titled Sword Art Online II, aired between July and December 2014. A video game based on the series, Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment, was released on PlayStation Portable in March 2013, with a second game, Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment for PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) released in April 2014. A third game, Sword Art Online: Lost Song, was released on PlayStation 3 and PS Vita in March 2015.
Sword Art Online synopsis from Haruhichan:
In the near future, a Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) called Sword Art Online has been released where players can control their avatars through brain waves using technology called “NerveGear.” When players enter the game, they discover they cannot log out, as the game creator is holding them captive. To escape, players must beat the game by defeating each boss on all 100 floors; however, if they die in the game, they die in real life too. Their struggle for survival starts now…
The Sword Art Online anime film, currently titled Sword Art Online: The Movie, is currently in production. Further information about the upcoming original movie will be revealed in future issues of Dengeki Bunko Magazine.
You can visit the anime’s official website here: http://www.swordart-online.net/
And follow the latest developments on their Twitter: @sao_anime
Source: Yusaani, Crunchyroll
