2nd Sword Art Online Progressive Film Opens on October 22 After COVID-19 Delay

The official website for Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Kuraki Yūyami no Scherzo (Scherzo of a Dark Dusk), the second film in the Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- anime film series, revealed on Tuesday that the film will open in Japan on October 22.

The film's website announced on August 22 that the film has been pushed back due to production delays caused by COVID-19. The film's August 24 advanced screening was also canceled. The film was slated to open in Japan on September 10 alongside IMAX screenings of the film.

The film will feature a returning cast. In addition, Kaede Hondo will play Liten, and Yūsuke Kobayashi will play Morte.

Ayako Kohno (unit director on Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic, High School Fleet, The Seven Deadly Sins the Movie: Prisoners of the Sky) is returning to direct the film at A-1 Pictures, and Kento Toya (Sword Art Online: Alicization - War of Underworld, The Seven Deadly Sins: Revival of The Commandments) is returning to design the characters. Yasuyuki Kai is again serving as action director, and Yuki Kajiura is returning to compose the music. Eir Aoi will perform the theme song "Shinzо̄" (Heart).

Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night, the first anime film in the project, opened in Japan in October 2021, and topped the box office in its first weekend.

The film opened in over 40 countries and territories around the world. Funimation screened the film in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in December 2021.

The anime is based on Reki Kawahara's Sword Art Online: Progressive light novel series. The novel series launched in 2012 as a revised retelling of Kawahara's original Sword Art Online novels. The story depicts Kirito's journey through the floating Aincrad castle from the beginning, floor-by-floor. Yen Press is publishing the Sword Art Online: Progressive novel series in English, as well as two manga adaptations.

Sources: Sword Art Online the Movie -Progressive- Kuraki Yūyami no Scherzo anime's website via Otakomu