The film was to be released in the “Road to 2020” campaign that included the Free! Road to the World – the Dream compilation film released into Japanese cinemas on July 5.
Kyoto Animation also says that they are “looking forward to everyone seeing the film” and that “when the film is released, [they] invite everyone to enjoy the work.”
An event for the 2020 film was supposed to occur on July 19 to preview a trailer for the film, but was canceled in wake of the Kyoto Animation arson attack on July 18, which killed 36 of the studio’s employees, including the character designer and chief animation director for the Free! Franchise, Futoshi Nishiya, and High Speed!