New Sword Art Online Original Anime Film Integral Domain Set for 2028, Continuing Beyond Alicization

It has been announced that the anime Sword Art Online, also known as SAO, will receive a completely new original theatrical film titled Sword Art Online the Movie: Integral Domain. The film is scheduled to be released in 2028, and its story will depict events beyond the Alicization arc. A teaser visual, teaser trailer, main staff information, and cast details have also been revealed.

The staff includes Shingo Adachi as director and Yumiko Yamamoto as character designer. Animation production will be handled by A1 Pictures and Psyde Kick Studio. ANIMEC will distribute the film. Yoshitsugu Matsuoka will reprise his role as Kirito, while Haruka Tomatsu will return as Asuna.

About the Sword Art Online Series

The Sword Art Online series is based on the novels written by Reki Kawahara. The story follows Kirito, the protagonist, as he becomes involved in incidents surrounding various online games in a near future where virtual reality has been realized through devices that connect users to virtual spaces.

The series is a popular work with more than 30 million copies in circulation worldwide. The television anime began airing in 2012, and four series totaling 97 episodes have been produced to date. In the Alicization arc, the longest arc in the series, the story reached a grand conclusion.

As for theatrical releases, the series previously released the completely new original film Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale in 2017. More recently, the Sword Art Online Progressive series, which reconstructs the story from its starting point, became a major hit with Aria of a Starless Night and Scherzo of Deep Night. Across three films, the series has surpassed 5 billion yen at the Japanese box office, and each film ranked No. 1 in opening week box office revenue.

Production of this completely new original theatrical film was first announced in 2022. In April this year, it was announced that new information would be revealed in July.

Source : ORICON NEWS