The Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo’s most successful franchises. In the company’s last earnings call, it was revealed that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom which was released in May this year has sold over 19.5 million copies. Now, Nintendo wants to take the franchise to the next level with a live-action adaptation.
The movie will be produced by Shigeru Miyamoto, a representative director and fellow of Nintendo alongside Avi Arad, a veteran Hollywood producer and former chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment. Also, the director of the upcoming Zelda live-action adaptation will be Wes Ball, the director behind the Maze Runner trilogy and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes which is scheduled for release in 2024.
“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,” said the company.
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Sony Pictures Entertainment and Nintendo will split the financing of the movie with more than 50% coming from Nintendo. What is unclear is whether the upcoming Zelda movie will take its story from the game or create an entirely new story like The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
“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,” the company said.
Nintendo has a culture of jealously guarding its IPs and always gets actively involved in any production involving its IP, thus allowing the company to control the narrative. This is different from Marvel which often licenses its IPs to other studios without getting involved in their production process.
Zelda’s live-action movie was likely inspired by the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie
The Super Mario Bros. Movie co-produced with Illumination is Nintendo’s first modern Hollywood production. It went on to become a huge success netting over $1.36 billion globally and shattering multiple box-office records. That success likely inspired Nintendo to dream of more.
“I have been working on the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda for many years now with Avi Arad-san, who produced many mega-hit films,” said Miyamoto. “I have asked Avi-san to produce this film with me, and we have now officially started the development of the film with Nintendo itself involved in the production. It will take time until its completion, but I hope you look forward to seeing it.”
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After the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, The Legend of Zelda was the next natural IP for Nintendo to consider for live-action adaptation based on its huge fan base. The Zelda franchise has sold over 130 million units since it began in 1986, according to Nintendo.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was the direct follow-up to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. After its launch in May, the game sold 10 million copies globally in the first three days, according to Nintendo. That made it the fastest-selling game in the history of the franchise as well as the fastest-selling Nintendo game for any system in the Americas and Europe.
Earlier this year, Nintendo’s president Shuntaro Furukawa said the company plans “to pour our efforts into a variety of visual content” during a quarterly earnings call. This could only mean that more Nintendo IPs will likely come to cinemas in the near future.
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“We are happy that [The Super Mario Bros.] movie is a hit, but will remain focused on carefully developing and further expanding each IP while respecting its unique characteristics, just as we have done in the past,” Furukawa said.
Are you excited about the upcoming Zelda live-action adaptation? What are your expectations for the movie? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.
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