Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria Of A Starless Night: Release Date, Cast, And More

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"Sword Art Online" has enjoyed explosive popularity in the past few years. What began as a web novel and became a popular anime series now branches off into more directions than many can keep up with: novels, games, films, and a sequel series make this an intimidating franchise to get into. But the upcoming release of "Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night" takes the story back to its beginnings. The best news of all? Fans of the series and newbies to the world of SAO are days away from enjoying the film in theaters. Here's everything you need to know about the upcoming film.

"Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night" arrives in theaters across North America on December 3, 2021. For those in Japan, the film has been available for a couple of months, having debuted back in late October. Funimation teamed up with Sony's distribution company, Aniplex of America, to bring the movie to fans across the world, including the approaching North American release, plus a theatrical release in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand on December 9. The film will be available both in its original Japanese with English subtitles, and in English dub.

The "Sword Art Online" series follows players of a virtual reality MMORPG who end up trapped in the game and forced to fight for their lives. Upon learning that the only way to leave the game is by beating it, powerful swordsman Kirito and his friends set out to free all the minds trapped in the game's world, the castle Aincrad. "Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night" tells a different version of a story that's very familiar to fans of the series. The film functions as a retelling of the anime's Aincrad arc, expanding on the encounter between Kirito and Asuna, and focusing on Asuna's initial struggle to cope with the realities of her new world. Beyond recapping the original story told in the anime, the film sets out to make substantial changes, with a new POV and various other additions.

SAO's "Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night" reunites much of the original cast, including Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as the voice of Kirito and Haruka Tomatsu as the voice of Asuna. The english-speaking actors, Bryce Papenbrook and Cherami Leigh, will reprise their roles for the English dub. Inori Minase is joining the cast as the new character Mito, voiced by Anairis Quinones in the dub.

Ayako Kōno ("Your Lie in April," "Ace Attorney") is the director behind "Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night," with Kento Toya designing the characters. Toya has been with the franchise for years, having worked on episodes of the original series and previous movies, including "Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale." Another returner is Yuki Kajiura, once again composing original music for the series.

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 drawn together to face challenges.