Skydance Television has been confirmed to be working on a live-action adaptation of the popular "Sword Art Online" franchise. The series is known as a popular franchise consisting of an anime, novels and video game but this is the first time it will receive a live-action adaptation for an American audience.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the independent studio has acquired the global live-action rights of the franchise and will be partnering with Kadowawa Corp. for the television series. At the time being, no network has yet signed on to distribute the series.
The pilot episode will be done by Laeta Kalogridis, who has worked on James Cameron's "Avatar," "Terminator Genisys" and the upcoming film adaptation of the anime "Alita: Battle Angel." Kalogridis will also serve as an executive producer for the series.
"Sword Art Online" initially started with the launch of 22 novels by author Reki Kawahara. The first book was released back in 2009 and has since seen 19 Million copies sold worldwide. The novels have since been adapted into nine manga series, two anime adaptations and video game adaptations.
Skydance describes the series as follows,:
"It follows a brilliant young beta tester Kirito and his group of friends when they are trapped - alongside 10,000 other people - in a next-generation virtual reality online role-playing game. The game is a world unto itself: filled with sword fighting, monsters, magic and mystery, where the stakes are life and death."
Kirito and the other players must then learn to fight and survive in the virtual world while also figuring out a way to get back to the real world.
The report also reveals that the live-action television series is just the beginning as Skydance is planning to further expand this and build a large brand with the "Sword Art Online." This might include a live-action film franchise or more if the television series proves successful.
