It’s been rumored for years, but Nintendo still managed to surprise us with a late-day announcement: a live-action film based on The Legend of Zelda is in the works, directed by Wes Ball. Ball’s most recent films are the Maze Runner series, the latest of which was released in 2018. Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto is producing the film along with Avi Arad, who has produced or executive produced loads of Marvel movies over the last decade-plus.
Surprisingly, the film is being co-financed by Nintendo and none other than Sony Pictures Entertainment. You know, part of the same company that owns PlayStation. Nintendo was quick to point out that it is financing more than 50 percent of the film, but that Sony Pictures Entertainment will be the the theatrical distributor.
Aside from that, there’s no other detail besides this tweet from Miyamoto:
This is Miyamoto. 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. [1]
— 任天堂株式会社 (@Nintendo) November 7, 2023
Miyamoto goes on to say that they have officially started development on the film with Nintendo “heavily involved” in the production. He also notes that it’ll “take time” before its completion but that he hopes fans look forward to seeing it.
Way back in 2015, we heard rumors from the Wall Street Journal that Nintendo and Netflix were making a live-action Zelda show, but that never came together (and there’s a pretty weird story around why). But the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie was perhaps the last thing Nintendo needed to make this project a reality. And while there’s plenty of time for things to go wrong between now and the movie hitting theaters, this Zelda fan is cautiously excited about the prospect of another classic Nintendo franchise making its way to the big screen.
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