posted on by Anita Tai
©Nintendo
Nintendo announced on Wednesday that it is developing a live-action film adaptation of The Legend of Zelda franchise, with Nintendo financing over 50% of the production and Sony also co-financing. Maze Runner director Wes Ball is attached to helm the project. Franchise co-creator, Nintendo Representative Director, and Nintendo Fellow Shigeru Miyamoto will produce the film, along with Avi Arad, Chairman of Arad Productions Inc. Sony will also be responsible for distribution.
Talks on producing a film adaptation for the franchise have emerged over the years, including a discussion between the Detective Pikachu film writers.
The idea of a live-action Legend of Zelda television series was teased by The Wall Street Journal in 2015 with plans to appear on Netflix, but Nintendo denied the accuracy of the report. Entertainment magazine and website The Wrap reported in 2019 that Adi Shankar was in talks to produce a Legend of Zelda television series however Shankar followed up on Instagram that he was producing an animated Devil May Cry series.
© 2022 Nintendo and Universal Studios
Tuesday’s announcement follows the successful 3D animated The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
As of October 15, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is the #12 highest-grossing animated film (including anime), and the #17 highest-grossing film of all time in Japan. The Super Mario Bros. Movie has surpassed Disney’s Frozen 2 at 13.37 billion yen (about US$89.2 million) to become the second highest-earning foreign-animated film in Japan. The first Frozen film ranks above The Super Mario Bros. Movie with box office earnings of 25.5 billion yen (about $170 million).
The film opened in the U.S. and in over 60 markets worldwide on April 5. The film now has a worldwide earning of US$1,362,659,200. The film was the highest-grossing film of 2023 worldwide until Greta Gerwig’s Barbie film surpassed it. The film is the highest-earning video game adaptation in history. The film is the #2 all-time highest-earning animated film worldwide. It is the #15 highest-earning film of all time.
Update: Added detail on Nintendo financing more than 50% of the production. Source: Nintendo
