Sword Art Online Progressive, the remake of the firstSAOarc set in Aincrad, is slowly getting animated, not through TV series but with anime films. And the second movie,Scherzo of Deep Night, finally got its release date announced in japan.
Sword Art Online Progressive Scherzo of Deep Night: Japanese Release Date And New Key Visual Revealed
TheJapanese Twitter accountfor theSAOanime series announced on July 26, 2025, thatSword Art Online Progressive Scherzo of Deep Nightwill release on July 22, 2025, in Japanese theaters. Just like with past SAO anime adaptations, Studio A-1 Pictures is handling the movie.
While an international release date was not announced yet, the Japanese date is a good indicator of when you will be able to watch the movie in the US. The first movie,Aria of a Starless Night, was released in Japan on October 30, and in US theaters on December 3. As such, we can similarly expectSword Art Online Progressive Scherzo of Deep Nightto release in US theaters one month after the Japanese release, in late October.
A new key visual for theScherzo of Deep Nightmovie was released as well. It most notably features, Asuna, Argo, and Kirito. Information broker Argo plays a much bigger role in the Progressive version of SAO. You can find a full resolution, creditless version of the key visual below.
Fans Should Also Pick Up The Original SAO Progressive Novel
It’s important to note that while theAria of a Starless Nightmovie adapted the first volume of theSAO Progressivenovel,Scherzo of Deep Nightis not adapting the second volume but the fourth one. When theScherzo of Deep Nightanime movie was first announced on June 06, 2025,Sword Art Onlineauthor Reki Kawahara explained that they had to skip the other two volumesdue to various circumstances.
However, theAriamovie rewrote the plot of the novel by most notably introducing a brand new original character: Mito, voiced by Inori Minase. It’s likely theScherzomovie will include some changes as well to keep the continuity going, that way those who haven’t read the novel won’t be lost.
With that said, you should definitely pick up theSAO Progressivenovel if you’re a fan of the series.
Long story short, Reki Kawahara wrote the originalSAOin the early 2000s as a self-published web novel, which he later rewrote once he got an official publisher. Meanwhile, the Sword Art Online Progressive was started in 2012 by a much more experienced Reki Kawahara. If the first arc of SAO is your favorite, then Progressive, being an extensive remake of the events of the first floors of Aincrad, is a must read
