'Sword Art Online' Creator Teases Its Season 3 Premiere

It has been years since A-1 Pictures had new episodes of Sword Art Online to screen, but that will change soon enough. Last year, the anime studio confirmed Sword Art Online was getting a third season and a spin-off. There has been no word on when the series will drop, but there is one guy who should know when they will.

As far as the creator of Sword Art Online knows, the anime titles will go live in 2018.

Taking to Twitter, Reki Kawahara greeted fans for the new year with a telling message. "Happy New Year! 2018 is the year for GGO & SAO 3," the creator said, nodding to the comeback coming for the franchise.

あけましておめでとうございます！ 2018年はアニメGGO＆SAO3期の年！ アクセルとユナイタル・リングも頑張ります、よろしくお願いします！

— 川原礫;AW22巻11月10日発売 (@kunori) December 31, 2017

So, there you have it. There is reason to believe the series may return to TV before the year runs out.

A-1 Pictures has yet to confirm the release dates of the next two Sword Art Online titles. However, an interview in Degeki Bunko's latest issue made it sound like the third season was a ways off.

It was there Keiichi Sigsawa opened up about his work on Gun Gale Online while Reki Kawahara's main series also got spotlighted. Over on Twitter, Gsimenas summarized tidbits from the interview. The fan said the interview "hints that [the] AGGO anime will come before Alicization" and act as "an appetiser [sic] before the main course."

"Alicization anime was apparently still not set in stone during the movie's production. The aftercredit scene was just Itou having fun, rather than a confirmation," the user went on to translate.

"Though the movie's reception gave Alicization the green-light. Hence, the anime production has only just started."

For those unfamiliar with Sword Art Online, the series was originally created by Reki Kawahara with illustrations provided by abec. The series follows a boy named Kirito after he and thousands of gamers get trapped in a virtual reality video game known as Sword Art Online. The gamers must band together to defeat the game's final level to escape, but Kirito and his guild learn there is more behind their prison than they were originally told.

The series began as a series of light novels published through Dengeki Bunko in 2009, and has been adapted into eight different manga series by ASCII Media Works and Kadokawa. The series has been licensed for an English language release by Yen Press, and has been adapted into an anime series by A-1 Pictures.

Are you excited for Sword Art Online's comeback? Hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to let me know and talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!