Nintendo has announced that it is officially working on a live-action Zelda movie, and it is teaming up with Sony Pictures Entertainment to bring it to life. This news comes from a news release on the famed video game developer’s website. Other big industry names have been confirmed to be a part of the project as well.
Avi Arad, who is best known for producing many Marvel projects, including essentially every Spider-Man-related film to some degree or another, will be serving as producer alongside Shigeru Miyamoto himself, whilst theatrical distribution will be handled around the world by Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Who is Making The Legend of Zelda Movie?
The Zelda movie will be directed by Wes Ball, whose major directorial credits include the Maze Runner movie trilogy, as well as the upcoming Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the follow-up to the acclaimed reboot trilogy, which recently released its first trailer.
It has also been reported that Derek Connolly will be writing the script for the film. Connolly’s prior efforts saw him penning the screenplays for Kong: Skull Island, Detective Pikachu, and the first Jurassic World film. He also served as a story writer for that film’s two sequels and helped pen the original, unused script for Star Wars Episode IX with Colin Trevorrow, at that time titled Duel of the Fates.
It has been revealed that Nintendo will co-finance this film with Sony Pictures Entertainment, with “more than 50% financed by Nintendo.” As such, Nintendo will remain “deeply involved” in the production of the film.
By getting deeply involved in the movie production with the aim to put smiles on everyone’s faces through entertainment, Nintendo will continue its efforts to produce unique entertainment and deliver it to as many people as possible.
Nintendo saw immense success with this year’s release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, grossing $1.36 billion at the box office, and becoming the highest-grossing video game-based film ever, as well as the second highest-grossing film of 2023, sandwiched right between Barbie and Oppenheimer.
Despite mixed reactions from film critics, The Super Mario Bros. Movie garnered plenty of love from fans of the beloved gaming franchise. With The Legend of Zelda being Nintendo’s next biggest IP, it certainly makes sense that the company would seek to follow suit and seek to replicate the success once more.
No release window or cast has been announced for the Zelda movie at this time, although given it appears to still be early in the stages of production, that likely won’t happen for some time yet. Additionally, SAG-AFTRA continues to be on strike due to major studios’ refusal to agree to a proper deal, though it has been suggested that a deal may be close.
Many fans will likely have questions about how the Zelda movie’s story will be handled. The franchise is historically much more story-focused than Mario is, and as such many fans have wondered which game, if any, the film will attempt to adapt.
It is also possible the Zelda movie could instead tell its own original story set in the Zelda universe. At this time, no plot details have yet been released, so only time will tell which route will be chosen. Fans will certainly have intense debates about whether or not the famously silent protagonist, Link, will speak in the film.
For now, not much is known about the Zelda movie aside from the fact that it is happening, and some of the key personalities involved. It will likely be a good while before we know more. For comparison, The Super Mario Bros. Movie was first announced on January 31, 2018.
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