A Live Action 'Legend Of Zelda' Movie Heads Into Development From Nintendo And Sony
Yup, it’s happening again, but this time they’re serious
You can’t be too cool for Hyrule. Nintendo is officially developing a The Legend of Zelda live-action film, as announced by creator and game developer Shigeru Miyamoto.
Miyamoto announced such on Twitter in a statement that after identifying himself on company account read, “I have been working on the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda for many years now with Avi Arad-san, who has produced many mega hit films. I have asked Avi-san to produce this film with me, and we have now officially started the development of the film with Nintendo itself heavily involved in the production. It will take time until its completion, but I hope you look forward to seeing it.” Arad is a noted meddler in his production of Spider-Man films, with his hands on every iteration since Spider-Man films have been a thing, including animation and especially the villain films. However, he’s also been either producer or executive producer on many of Marvel’s films of the early and mid-2000s, including Hulk, The Punisher, the original X-Men trilogy, the Blade trilogy, the Ghost Rider and Fantastic Four films, Daredevil and Elektra, and even the beginnings of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk. And that doesn’t even get into his reach in Marvel Television and Marvel Animation of the era.
Wes Ball is attached to direct. His next film, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, released its first trailer this week, having come from the The Maze Runner trilogy beforehand. Ironically, back in 2010, Ball tweeted that it was the franchise that could’ve followed Avatar’s motion capture craze, saying “Since I could never even hope to have the chance to direct it... the next big mo-cap Avatar-like movie should be... THE LEGEND OF ZELDA.” Of course, it was the new phase of the Planet of the Apes franchise that he’s hopped on that’s been so lauded for its motion capture thanks to star Andy Serkis.
The film will be co-financed by Nintendo and Sony Pictures Entertainment, who will handle theatrical distribution, with more than 50% financed by Nintendo. Having only just headed into development, plot, plot format, and casting details might not even exist let alone be ready for the public. The Legend of Zelda franchise began with the initial game of the same name in 1986. It follows the elf-like warrior of the Hylian race Link, who sets out to defeat the evil Ganon to rescue the princess Zelda of Hyrule. The series’s latest entry, Tears of the Kingdom, sold more than 10 million copies in its first three days.
It seems following the billion-dollar success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Nintendo’s timidity to produce TV and film adaptations of their IP. Even just the one and they’re ready to try live action after the infamous failure of 1993’s Super Mario Bros. sowed the reluctance and distrust in the first place. Miyamoto told in April around the release “The reason we were so resistant and careful to adapt our games into movies is because in video games there is always a player, who overcomes challenges and fights their way through. Their struggle — redoing the levels over and over — is all part of it. Just following the plot points of the video games will never work as a movie. Without the involvement of the player, it won’t meet expectations.”
