Nintendo has confirmed that a live-action film adaptation of The Legend of Zelda is in the works.
On its official website, Nintendo announced that a live-action Legend of Zelda movie is due to enter development soon. Nintendo executive and Zelda co-creator Shigeru Miyamoto will produce the film alongside Spider-Man franchise producer Avi Arad. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes helmer Wes Ball will direct.
Nintendo will produce the Legend of Zelda movie alongside Arad Productions. Nintendo will also co-finance the movie with Sony Pictures Entertainment, with the former putting up more than half the money. Sony, meanwhile, will distribute the film worldwide.
The announcement of a Zelda movie follows the massive commercial success of Nintendo and Universal Pictures’ animated feature The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which hit theaters this past April. It also follows the similarly successful launch of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which released on the Nintendo Switch in May as a sequel to 2017’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
The history of The Legend of Zelda
The original Legend of Zelda released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986. Zelda has since become one of Nintendo’s flagship titles, spawning 19 more main-series entries and a number of spin-offs. Games like 1991’s The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, 1998’s The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and the aforementioned Breath of the Wild are held in particularly high regard among Nintendo fans.
Notably, the upcoming live-action film will not be the Zelda franchise’s first on-screen adaptation. 1989 saw the premiere of DIC’s Legend of Zelda animated series, which aired alongside the The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! on first-run syndication.
