Nintendo, the gaming giant behind the Super Mario and Pokemon franchises, has announced that it is making a live-action movie based on its popular fantasy adventure series, The Legend of Zelda. The movie will be co-produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment, which will also handle the theatrical distribution worldwide.
The Legend of Zelda movie will be directed by Wes Ball, who is best known for helming the Maze Runner trilogy, based on the dystopian novels by James Dashner. The screenplay will be written by Derek Connolly, who has worked on the Jurassic World trilogy and the upcoming Metal Gear movie, based on the stealth action video game series by Hideo Kojima.
The movie will be based on the long-running video game series that debuted in 1986 and has spawned over 20 titles to date. The games follow the adventures of Link, a young hero who must save the kingdom of Hyrule and its princess, Zelda, from the evil forces of Ganon, who seeks to obtain the Triforce, a powerful relic that grants the wishes of its holder. The games are known for their immersive gameplay, rich storytelling, and stunning visuals, and have been critically acclaimed and commercially successful, selling over 100 million copies worldwide.
The Legend of Zelda movie will be the second film adaptation of a Nintendo property, following the smash hit Super Mario Bros. Movie, which was released earlier this year and grossed over $1.3 billion at the global box office. The Super Mario Bros. Movie was a collaboration between Nintendo and Universal Pictures and featured the voices of Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, and Seth Rogen.
Nintendo has been notoriously protective of its intellectual properties and has rarely allowed them to be adapted into other media, especially after the disastrous 1993 live-action Super Mario Bros. movie, which starred Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo and was widely panned by critics and fans alike. However, the success of the Super Mario Bros. Movie and the positive reception of the Netflix animated series based on the Castlevania video game series has encouraged Nintendo to explore more opportunities to expand its brands into the film and television industry.
The Legend of Zelda movie has been in development for several years, according to Nintendo’s representative director and fellow Shigeru Miyamoto, who is also the creator of the Zelda series and will serve as a producer on the movie. Miyamoto revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that he has been working on the project with Avi Arad, the founder of Marvel Studios and the producer of many blockbuster movies based on comic book and video game characters, such as Spider-Man, X-Men, Iron Man, and Uncharted. Arad was reportedly instrumental in finalizing the deal between Nintendo and Sony and securing the creative team for the movie.
The Legend of Zelda movie does not have a release date yet but is expected to be one of the most anticipated movies of the next few years, as it will bring to life one of the most beloved and influential video game franchises of all time. Fans are eagerly waiting to see who will be cast as Link, Zelda, Ganon, and other iconic characters from the Zelda universe, and how the movie will adapt the rich lore and history of the series. The movie will also mark a rare collaboration between Sony and Nintendo, two of the biggest rivals in the gaming industry, who have not worked together since the failed Nintendo PlayStation project in the early 1990s.
