Fresh off of the news that the most recent Legend of Zelda game, Tears of the Kingdom, has sold over 19 million units, Nintendo confirmed that a live-action Legend of Zelda film is in the works. Shigeru Miyamoto is producing alongside Avi Arad, and Wes Ball (of the Maze Runner trilogy) will direct.
Miyamoto said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter): “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. 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 heavily involved in the production. It will take time until its completion, but I hope you look forward to seeing it.”
According to Nintendo, the film will be partly financed by itself and partly by Sony Pictures, which will also handle theatrical distribution. A statement from Nintendo reads: “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 Super Mario Bros movie seems to have done well for Nintendo, even boosting sales of the Switch and Mario games according to the company’s latest earnings report. Nintendo likely will continue to expand into the world of gaming, as its statement also reads, “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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