New Sword Art Online Film Reveals Title, Cast, Staff, 2028 Debut
The Sword Art Online franchise announced on Tuesday that its new original film will open in theaters in 2028 under the title Sword Art Online -Integral Domain-.
The film is based on an original story by Reki Kawahara and takes place after the Sword Art Online: Alicization story arc.
Yoshitsugu Matsuoka stars as Kirito, and Haruka Tomatsu stars as Asuna.
Shingo Adachi (chief animation director for Sword Art Online, Sword Art Online II) is directing the film at A-1 Pictures and Psyde Kick Studio. Yumiko Yamamoto (Yohane the Parhelion -SUNSHINE in the MIRROR, Sword Art Online: Alicization - War of Underworld) is designing the characters. Animec is distributing.
"Sword Art Online -Full Dive-," the event that celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Sword Art Online anime franchise and the online launch of the fictional in-story game, had announced in November 2022 that the franchise is launching a "brand-new original film project." The Sword Art Online franchise's "Yuna First Live" concert on April 29 ended with a teaser for a "brand-new original film." Both announcements described the film in terms normally used for stories not told in the original work.
Reki Kawahara began the Sword Art Online web novel in 2001, and serialized it from 2002 to 2008 on his website. Kadokawa's Dengeki Bunko label began publishing a newly edited print version in 2009, ending the original story with the "Alicization" arc as Kawahara had wrote it in his website with the 18th volume in 2016. The novel series returned with an all-new "Moon Cradle" story arc in 2017, and another all-new "Unital Ring" story arc in 2018, and is now in its 29th overall volume. The series has inspired novel and manga spinoffs, a television anime adaptation with several seasons, an anime film, and proposed live-action series. Kawahara's Sword Art Online: Progressive spinoff novel series inspired two anime films of its own.
Echoes of Aincrad, the new action RPG based on Reki Kawahara's Sword Art Online franchise, will launch in Japan on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on July 9, and on PC via Steam on July 10. In the West, it will launch on all these platforms on July 10.
Sources: Sword Art Online's official website, Comic Natalie
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Disclosure: Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings Inc., is a non-controlling, minority shareholder in Anime News Network Inc.
