• Xian Ly from Birmingham as character 'Asuna' from Sword Art Online attends Hyper Japan at Earl's Court on November 24, 2012 in London, England.

Xian Ly from Birmingham as character 'Asuna' from Sword Art Online attends Hyper Japan at Earl's Court on November 24, 2012 in London, England. (Photo : Getty Images/Miles Willis)

"Sword Art Online" fans finally have something to smile about after the confirmation of an animated movie is in development. News on the development was unveiled during the Dengeki Bunko Autumn Festival last weekend.

Although there is no official date set for the highly-awaited "Sword Art Online" season 3, the franchise has been bringing together some other elements to keep fans preoccupied. Among the things that kept fans on board is the "Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization" video game that was about Kirito starting as a beta tester.

Like Us on Facebook

The upcoming movie will tell a completely new story, according to IGN. Fans should be ecstatic because there are some characters from the original crew that have signed to reprise their roles in the "Sword Art Online" animated film. For instance, series creator Reki Kawahara will be in charge of story writing, Tomohiko Ito will direct and character designer Shingo Adachi will come back to create new characters for the upcoming movie.

Further details on the animated movie are slated to emerge today, Oct. 10 in the next Dengeki Bunko magazine issue.

Meanwhile, the Dengeki Bunko Autumn Festival as well revealed a new soundtrack collection - "Sword Art Online Music Collection" - having 131 songs, Anime News Network reported. The new collection will feature Yuki Kajiura's music from the series, an extra Blu-ray disc of his live performance during the "Sword Art Online: Sing All Overtures" event, and the initially released tracks on four CDs.

"Sword Art Online" is a renowned commercial product comprising light novels, an anime series, manga, an upcoming animated movie, and video games. The sequel follows Kirito and his allies as they are trapped in an MMORPG world referred to as "Sword Art Online" and their journey to run away and return into the real world.