Did Sword Art Online’s Author Just Tease Future Plans for the Anime?
If Sword Art Online anime news were rain, then its diehard fans would be experiencing something of a drought. While an SAO spinoff series aired in 2024, the last mainline entry to the series hasn’t been since 2022 when the second Progressive film released. Despite getting a promise that a new SAO film was in the works at the 10th anniversary event, news for the series’s continuation has been scant to say the least, and mostly relegated to the light novel series (which did release a new volume in English earlier this year).
Sword Art Online 15th anniversary artwork by Abec
However, SAO fans may finally have something to look forward to thanks to a half-teased nod from Sword Art Online’s author, Reki Kawahara that there may be new announcements in 2026. Or not. See the full post on X below:
Translated it reads like this:
“As for me, the past 25 years have been nothing but a period of steady preparation, so I’m hoping to showcase the fruits of that labor to everyone next year. Once the new year begins, there will be some new announcements coming up soon (or not!), so please wait patiently and relaxedly...!”
Could we be getting an announcement of the next Sword Art Online anime installment in 2026?
While legions of fans hang on any hope of a continuation of the popular anime, one thing bears repeating: no official Sword Art Online anime news has actually been leaked. Indeed, Kawahara himself is involved in many projects ranging from writing SAO novels both in the mainline series as well as in the Progressive light novel series (which will be getting a new volume later in 2026 in English), to other novels for other popular series like Accel world, and even yet another light novel series called Demon Crest which will also soon be getting an anime adaptation.
Sword Art Online Progressive 009 comes to English in 2026
Kawahara certainly keeps busy so it’s no wonder the pacing of releases for SAO feel a bit slow at times. And with his hands in so many different pies, these “announcements” really could be referencing just about any of these projects, not necessarily SAO.
However, Kawahara clearly is in touch with his audience given the content of his X posts, and certainly he knows that fans would take a vague, ambiguous note like “there will be several announcements in the new year” (paraphrasing) to have to do with SAO and it’s near-legendary lack of anime.
With all of that being said, I’m leaning towards there being an announcement regarding the SAO anime coming soon. And here’s why: 2026 is jam-packed with awesome anime.
Sword Art Online would fit in with 2026’s insane anime lineup
Many have commented on how huge 2025 was for anime. Indeed, I wouldn’t find it totally unlikely that 2025 will be looked back on one day as one of anime’s milestones in the mainstream. Indeed, the Demon Slayer Infinity Castle film grossing nearly one billion dollars at the box office was a landmark achievement for a medium which was – just a few decades ago – relatively fringe.
2026 seems to be lining up to be just as big for anime, with many, many big IPs getting new seasons like BLEACH: Thousand Year Blood War, Frieren, Jujutsu Kaisen, One Piece, Naruto and beyond.
Certainly an anime as impactful as Sword Art Online would feel right at home amidst this legendary lineup.
Why haven’t we had a new Sword Art Online anime recently?
Despite getting this very specific teaser trailer three years ago that announced a new SAO film was already in production, we’ve heard basically nothing since regarding what that SAO film might be. However, assuming that the film does one day come out, I see there being a few options.
First and most likely, the film could be a third installment to the Progressive film series. This seems the most likely given the film supposedly was already in production three years ago meaning the main storyline arc of Unital Ring wasn’t progressed enough at that time to adapt into a film.
Alternatively, a live action teaser trailer was leaked in 2024 that seemed to show Sword Art Online in the real world. So it could very well be that the next film won’t be an anime at all but a live action adaptation of the original story. While I’d prefer another anime installment, actually SAO would make for a really cool live action film so I’d be down to see that.
I also wouldn’t be surprised to see another season of Sword Art Online announced given the renewed fervor for anime going on in the world. Unital Ring has plenty of material at this point to pull together another season, and surely Aniplex and A-1 Pictures recognize that the return of an SAO anime into the current climate would be a huge opportunity for them.
So what exactly is the news that Kawahara is teasing? Is it a new live action or animated film, new season, or simply a new light novel? Or is it something else entirely. We’ll have to wait and find out, but clearly the devoted Sword Art Online fandom is ready for a little rain.
