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New Sword Art Online movie coming to UK and US in December

The new Sword Art Online movie, Sword Art Online The Movie-Progressive-Aria of a Starless Night, gets a release date

three warriors standing in front of the floating castle Aincrad

It’s time to delve into the world of virtual reality because a new Sword Art Online movie is on its way. Taking to social media, Funimation has announced that the upcoming anime movie, titled Sword Art Online The Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night, will be released in the US on December 3 and in the UK a few days later on December 9.

The big news was shared via Funimation’s UK and Ireland Twitter account. Along with revealing the new release dates for UK viewers, the company also informed its followers that tickets for the action movie will be available to purchase as early as November 19. This means that international audiences will have the chance to experience the film two months after its initial release in Japan, which was back on October 30.

Based on Reki Kawahara’s light novel series called Sword Art Online: Progressive, the new film sees us return to the floating fortress Aincrad for an all-new retelling of the popular story. The plot of Kawahara’s series follows a young boy called Kirito as he journeys through the game world and faces Aincrad’s imposing castle floor by floor. Ayako Kōno (Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic) is directing the upcoming film, while Kento Toya (Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld) has designed the characters.

The official synopsis for Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night posted on Funimation’s blog reads: “The day that she happened to don the NerveGear, Asuna Yuuki was a third-year middle school student who’d never even touched an online game before. On November 6, 2022, the world’s first VRMMORPG, Sword Art Online, is officially launched. But the players, still euphoric over having logged in, suddenly find themselves trapped inside the game when the Game Master deprives them of any way to log out.”

“The Game Master then gives them this warning ‘This may be a game, but it’s not something you play.’ If a player dies in-game, they die in the real world,” the synopsis continues. “Hearing this, all of the players panic, and pandemonium reigns.”

“One of those players is Asuna, but despite not yet knowing the rules of this world, she sets off to conquer the floating iron castle, Aincrad, whose peak is too high to be seen. As the days go by in this world where death is never very far away, she has a fateful encounter. And then, a parting. Though she’s at the mercy of the reality before her eyes, Asuna fights on with all her might, until someone appears before her: the aloof swordsman, Kirito…”

While we wait on more updates from Funimation, here is our guide on the best anime series of all time.