Following the global success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie released earlier this year, Nintendo has confirmed that a live-action Legend of Zelda movie, one of its other celebrated titles, is officially in the works.
First launched in 1986, The Legend of Zelda is a critically acclaimed action-adventure game available on Nintendo game consoles. It follows the adventures of Link, a young elf-like protagonist alongside Princess Zelda as they seek to protect their land from the villainous Ganon.
From its vivid world-building to engaging and exciting storylines and plots, The Legend of Zelda has developed a cult-like following around the world, with many iterations and versions of the game released as the video game company has grown and moved into new and exciting platforms.
To date, Nintendo has released 19 Legend of Zelda games across 12 platforms.
It’s been something that’s been teased for almost a decade, with rumours first circulating in 2015 of a Netflix-made live-action, but it’s now been confirmed that a Legend of Zelda movie is finally on its way.
Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo’s legendary games designer responsible for Zelda in addition to the Super Mario Bros. franchise, will produce the feature film alongside Avi Arad, the CEO of Marvel Entertainment and the brains behind the many iterations of the Spider-Man feature films throughout the years.
Together with Sony, who will be responsible for theatrical distribution, Nintendo said this is part of a wider plan to branch into the Entertainment space, bringing more and more of their iconic video games titles to the big screens.
According to Deadline, Wes Ball will direct and Derek Connolly, the American screenwriter known for the Jurassic World trilogy and Pokemon Detective Pikachu, has joined the project to write the script for the live-action film.
“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,” it said in a statement.
“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’s unclear when they plan to release the film, but Miyamoto has claimed: “It will take time until its completion, but I hope you look forward to seeing it.”