Nintendo today announced that it will develop a live-action The Legend of Zelda movie. The film will be produced by Shigeru Miyamoto, Representative Director and Fellow of Nintendo, and Avi Arad, Chairman of Arad Productions Inc.
The movie will be produced by Nintendo and Arad Productions Inc., and directed by Wes Ball. Ball’s credits include The Maze Runner film trilogy and the upcoming Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
The Legend of Zelda movie will be co-financed by Nintendo and Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., with more than 50% financed by Nintendo.
The theatrical distribution of the film will be done worldwide by Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Said Nintendo: “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.”
The company added: “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.”
Nintendo previously teamed up with Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures on The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which is the second-biggest movie of the year with nearly $1.362 billion grossed worldwide. The movie has earned $574.9 million in North America and $786.9 million in international markets.
The Super Mario Bros Movie was directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic from a screenplay by Matthew Fogel. The film stars Chris Pratt as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad.
They were joined by Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek, and Sebastian Maniscalco as Spike.
The Japanese voice cast includes Mamoru Miyano as Mario, Arisa Shida as Princess Peach, Tasuku Hatanaka as Luigi, Kenta Miyake as Bowser, and Tomokazu Seki as Toad.
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills in 2018 to cover the latest news on streaming, movies, TV, and video games.