SWORD ART ONLINE TV Adaptation Adds Showrunners/Exec Producers
Skydance’s forthcoming live-action television adaptation of hit Japanese IP property, Sword Art Online (SAO), now comes attached with award-winning writer/producer duo Patrick Massett and John Zinman (Friday Night Lights, The Blacklist, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider). The move signals the start of a multi-year deal between the parties following last year’s announcement. Skydance’s SAO series will follow brilliant young beta tester Kirito and his group of friends when they are trapped, along with 10,000 other people, in a next-generation virtual reality online role-playing game filled with swordfighting, monsters, and mystery. Masset and Zinman will serve as showrunners, and will also share writing duties on the pilot with Laeta Kalogridis (Avatar, Altered Carbon) who first shepherded the project to the studio. All three are executive producing the new series along with David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Marcy Ross. “Patrick and John have shown incredible range in their storytelling capabilities, from subtle character […]