Nintendo and Sony join forces for live-action 'The Legend of Zelda' movie, Helmed by ‘Maze Runner’ director Wes Bell
Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto will produce the film, which is part of Nintendo's strategy to become a more diversified entertainment company.
Nintendo has big plans to expand its presence in the movie industry. The gaming giant has announced that it is developing a live-action film based on its popular franchise The Legend of Zelda.
The film will be helmed by Wes Ball, the director of the Maze Runner films and the upcoming Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. The film will also have the involvement of Zelda’s creator Shigeru Miyamoto, who will be a producer along with Avi Arad, a veteran producer of many hollywood blockbusters.
Miyamoto shared his excitement for the project on X. He said, “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.” He also asked fans to be patient, as he said, “It will take time until its completion, but I hope you look forward to seeing it.”
The live-action film will be a joint venture between Nintendo and Sony, with Nintendo covering more than half of the production costs. Several speculations surfaced that initially, the gaming giant is in a talk with Illumination. The acclaimed publishers for the Minions series.
After Nintendo's recent announcement of a live-action "Legend of Zelda" film, discussions are underway for Chris Pratt to potentially step into the role of Link in the cinematic adaptation.
There is also a potential rumour that Spider-Man star Tom Holland also can potray the role of Zelda.
Nintendo said that the film is part of its strategy to become a more diversified entertainment company, beyond its core business of making video games and consoles. Nintendo also has other projects in the works, such as the animated Super Mario Bros. movie, which Miyamoto also produced, and the Nintendo-themed attractions at various theme parks around the world. Nintendo also released the latest installment of the Zelda series this year, called Tears of the Kingdom.
Nintendo explained its vision for the film in a statement, saying, “By producing visual contents of Nintendo IP by itself, Nintendo is creating new opportunities to have people from around the world to access the world of entertainment which Nintendo has built, through different means apart from its dedicated game consoles.”
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“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,” it added.
The live-action Zelda film is not the first time that Nintendo has attempted to bring the franchise to the screen. A few years ago, there were rumours that Nintendo was collaborating with Netflix on a live-action Zelda series, but that project never materialized.