Summary
Nintendo has officially announced a live-actionLegend of Zeldafilm. Nintendo has translated the incredible success it’s enjoyed in the video game space to the box office already, withThe Super Mario Bros. Movieearning over $1 billionand standing tall as the second-highest grossing film of 2023 to date.
The Super Mario Bros. Moviewas a massive success for Nintendo, and so many assumed that the Big N would look to adapt more of its franchises to film. AZeldamovie has topped many fans' lists, though there’s been some question as to what shape the project would take. While some fans assumed that aLegend of Zeldamovie would be animated likeThe Super Mario Bros. Movie, it’s now been confirmed to be a live-action project.
The Legend of Zeldamovie will be produced byfranchise creator Shigeru Miyamotoand Avi Arad with Wes Ball serving as director. In a somewhat shocking development, theLegend of Zeldamovie will be made as a collaborative effort between Nintendo and Sony Pinctures Entertainment. Sony and Nintendo will both finance the project, with more than 50% of the budget financed by Nintendo, while Sony will handle theatrical distribution.
Shigeru Miyamoto played a key role inThe Super Mario Bros. Movie, which ensured that the film was true to its video game roots and helped it become such a massive hit at the box office. Miyamoto being involved in theZeldamovie is certainly good news for the film. Avi Arad, meanwhile, has served as producer on some of Hollywood’s biggest films, including many Marvel movies like the variousSpider-Manfilms. Arad has also dipped his toe in video game films, having produced both theUnchartedmovie and theupcomingBorderlandsfilm.
Director Wes Ball is the most questionable piece of the puzzle, as his filmography isn’t all that impressive from a quality standpoint. Ball directedThe Maze Runner,Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, andMaze Runner: The Death Cure, all of which earned mixed to negative reviews from critics despite being box office successes. However, that may have more to do with the source material than Ball’s directing.Ball’s next film isKingdom of the Planet of the Apes, set to premiere in 2024, so one has to imagine that theZeldamovie is still years away, though Nintendo’s announcement stopped short of providing release date specifics.
Nintendo teaming with Sony to create theZeldafilm is perhaps the most shocking development out of all this, as the two are fierce rivals in the video game space. Nintendo and Sony have competed in the console market for decades, so it’s surprising to see them team up for a movie. In any case, video game movies do seem to be the next big thing in terms of blockbuster films, and it will be exciting to see how theZeldamovie turns out andwho is cast as Link and Zelda.
