Joseph Luster
September 1, 2021 
When the Sword Art Online Progressive movie—subtitled Aria of a Starless Night—premieres in Japan, fans will have the opportunity to see it on the biggest screen possible. On the same day that its regular screenings premiere—October 30—the film will open IMAX screens.
The Sword Art Online Progressive is based on the light novel spinoff series of the same name by original author Reki Kawahara, which retells the first arc’s story. Each floor gets its own tale, and the Aria of a Starless Night film covers the first chapter of the first book in the series.
IMAX released a special visual to celebrate the news:
Ayako Kawano (episodes of Love Live! Sunshine!!, Yurikuma Arashi) is in the director’s chair for this one, with returning staff members including action director Yasuyuki Kai from the first SAO series, character designer Kento Toya from Sword Art Online Alicization, and composer Yuki Kajiura. A-1 Pictures is on animation production once again.
Yen Press publishes the Sword Art Online Progressive light novels in English and describes them:
‘There’s no way to beat this game. The only difference is when and where you die…’ 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 two very different people, but they both desire to fight alone. Nonetheless, they find themselves drawn together to face challenges from both within and without. Given that the entire virtual world they now live in has been created as a deathtrap, the surviving players of Sword Art Online are starting to get desperate, and desperation makes them dangerous to loners like Kirito and Asuna. As it becomes clear that solitude equals suicide, will the two be able to overcome their differences to find the strength to believe in each other, and in so doing survive? Sword Art Online: Progressive is a new version of the Sword Art Online tale that starts at the beginning of Kirito and Asuna’s epic adventure–on the very first level of the deadly world of Aincrad!
Via Crunchyroll
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