Not one, but two new Sword Art Online The Movie -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night trailers have been released.
The trailers arrive alongside the announcement that the movie will eventually be released theatrically in over 40 countries across the world. That count includes Aniplex and Funimation's previously announced plans to give the movie a limited theatrical run in the United States and Canada on Dec. 3, with a release to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and select Latin America countries happening at a later date. Of course, Japan will still get the movie first, as the retelling of SAO's opening chapters will premiere in the country on Oct. 30. A limited amount of collectible postcards, which feature new art of Kirito, Asuna and newcomer Mito, will be given out to anyone who buys a ticket in the region.
Aria of a Starless Night is a retelling of the opening parts of the Sword Art Online series, but it now presents the events from through the perspective of Asuna, the series' main heroine. The movie will also introduce a new character to the series, Misumi Tozawa, who is known by the screen name "Mito" within the world of the show's virtual MMORPG. Tozawa is Asuna's classmate in real life, and is the friend who introduces her to the eponymous game that they eventually become trapped within. When the game prevents anyone from logging out and starts killing its players, Mito blames herself for the danger that Asuna is now in and dedicates herself to protecting her friend.
Many of the voice actors from the original anime will reprise their roles for the movie, including Asuna's original voice actor, Haruka Tomatsu, and Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, who will reprise the role of Kirito. Aria of a Starless Night is directed by Ayako Kohno, who previously worked on several other big anime franchises, as Seven Deadly Sins The Movie and the anime adaptation of Tite Kubo's Bleach. Yuki Kajiura, a veteran anime and video game composer who previously worked on the Sword Art Online TV series, as well as Demon Slayer and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, will also return to compose new music for the movie. Pop star LiSA, who is best known for singing Demon Slayer's original theme song "Gurenge," will also perform a new song for the movie, entitled "Yuke."
The original Sword Art Online anime and its Gun Gale spinoff series are available for streaming on Funimation, Crunchyroll, Hulu and Netflix.