Season 3 of the Japanese anime “Sword Art Online” has reportedly been put on the backburner when its publisher Kadokawa Corporation recently forged an agreement with Skydance Media of the US granting the latter the TV rights to the franchise.
Reports have it that Skydance Media is looking to produce and release a live-action TV series of “Sword Art Online” in the US next year.
Many fans are saying that the live-action TV series version of “Sword Art Online” could be the third season that the Japanese anime fans have long been waiting for. But critics were quick to point out that it would be absurd for a TV series to start off as an anime and subsequently continue on as a live-action show on the small screen.
Skydance Media has already tapped the services of Greek-American writer Laeta Kalogridis, for the script and screenplay of the live-action “Sword Art Online” TV series.
While Kadokawa Corporation has not issued any official statement regarding its decision to sell off the TV rights of the “Sword Art Online” franchise to Skydance Media, many are saying that it was a move to bring more profitability to the company.
However, Kadokawa would still be involved in the development of the TV series to ensure that Skydance does not wander off the characters and key elements of the franchise.
Collaboration in the offing
The collaboration in the offing was recently revealed by David Ellison, CEO of Skydance Media, when he said in an interview that they are looking forward to working alongside Laeta Kalogridis, Reki Kawahara, and the teams at Kadokawa and Aniplex to build a deeply immersive universe of “Sword Art Online.”
Ellison added that they wanted their output to be as authentic as possible as part of honoring the well-established fan base of “Sword Art Online” all over the world.
Reki Kawahara is the Japanese author and creator of the “Sword Art Online” manga where the franchise is based on while Aniplex is the producer of the anime on Japanese television.
The collaboration behind the live-action “Sword Art Online” TV series seems to indicate that it may indeed be a continuation of the Japanese anime or a reboot altogether. This also validates the notion that there could possibly be a Season 3 of “Sword Art Online” anime and Kadokawa and Aniplex are merely waiting for the right time to give it a go or until such time that the first season of the live-action “Sword Art Online” TV series is completed in the US.
Thrilled for the opportunity
As far as Laeta Kalogridis is concerned, she says that she is thrilled to get the opportunity to work with such talented partners to bring the cutting-edge yet timeless story of “Sword Art Online” to a new format at Skydance, details FX News Call.
Kalogridis is currently involved in the production of “Altered Carbon” on Netflix. She has also worked as executive producer for “Birds of Prey” back in 2002 and “Bionic Woman” back in 2007.
She was also one of the executive producers of “Avatar,” the most successful film of all time.
Kalogridis is also credited for her contributions in some films including “Alexander,” “Nightwatch,” “Pathfinder: The Legend of the Ghost Warrior,” “Shutter Island” that starred Leonardo DiCaprio, and “Terminator: Genisys.”
In addition to a possible live-action TV series in the US to be aired or streamed on Netflix, the anime shall also have a film version to be shown on February 18, 2017 officially titled as “Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale.”
It was also Kadokawa, who confirmed early last month the official release date of “Sword Art Online” animated movie.
More importantly, the movie shall hit 1,000 cinemas when it comes out early next year, indicative of how popular and successful the franchise has become.
The film is said to be the sequel to the final arc in the anime. It takes place after the Mother’s Rosario Arc.