The list of video games turned into Hollywood movies is set to grow after Nintendo revealed it has teamed up with Sony to create a live-action film based on the epic Legend of Zelda series. The Legend of Zelda series has sold over 150 million copies since the inaugural title launched in 1986, so if Nintendo and Sony tick all the right boxes with the movie, it should be a massive, global hit.
Series creator Shigeru Miyamoto let the cat out of the bag on Wednesday via two posts on the social media platform X. The tweets read, “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 the 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.”
Avi Arad, whom Miyamoto mentioned in his tweets, was the CEO and founder of Marvel Studios. Arad is best known for his work on the Spider-Man trilogy and will co-produce with Miyamoto. The Maze Runner’s Wes Ball is directing The Legend of Zelda, making for a trio of critically acclaimed brains behind the operation. The live-action version of one of video game’s best-selling franchises is sure to be a favorite to win several with Super Bowl betting sites the world over, even before the cast is announced. Investors reacted positively to the news, with shares in Nintendo jumping almost 6.5% during Wednesday trading, the company’s most significant within-day rise for nearly three years.
What is The Legend of Zelda?
The Legend of Zelda is an action-adventure game franchise first released in 1986 for the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The original title was a commercial success, selling 6.51 million copies worldwide, including one million on Day 1 in Japan alone.
Critics praised the game’s graphics, incredible musical score, and groundbreaking gameplay. Other action-adventure titles around the time of The Legend of Zelda’s launch had linear gameplay, but Nintendo created an open world that players could explore at will, setting the standard for today’s modern titles.
The game is set in a medieval Western Europe-inspired fantasy world called Hyrule. According to the in-game backstories, three golden goddesses created Hyrule. Before they departed, the goddesses left a sacred artifact known as the Triforce. This artifact grants any wish to anyone worthy enough to find it. Many of the Zelda titles involve the player stopping the Triforce from falling into evil hands.
Players control Link, the central protagonist of The Legend of Zelda series. The elf-like Link started life as a basic 2D character in the original game but is now a fully animated character in the latest game, Tears of the Kingdom, released in 2023.
The Movie Every Nintendo Fan Wants
The Legend of Zelda franchise consists of 19 games and three remakes and is one of the most beloved franchises in the world of video games. Breath of the Wild, launched in 2017, is the franchise’s best-selling game, with 32.85 million units sold. Tears of the Kingdom, released in May 2023, had sold 19.5 million units by September 30, making it one of the best-selling titles on the Nintendo Switch.
Fans of the franchise widely expected a film of their favorite game, not least because an animated series hit television in 1989. Netflix was rumored to be developing a new animated series in 2015, but that did not materialize.
Nintendo has been overly protective of its properties since the 1993 Super Mario Bros film. The film featured Bob Hoskins as the famous character Mario, but even Hoskins’ star quality could not prevent the movie from being a critical and financial disaster. The movie grossed $38.9 million from a $48 million budget and has since appeared on several lists of the worst films ever made.
However, Nintendo was heavily involved in the 2022 release of the animated The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The film grossed $1.36 billion worldwide while breaking records for the biggest worldwide opening weekend for an animated film and the highest-grossing film based on a video game.
A statement on Nintendo’s website reveals the Japanese company plans to finance more than 50% of The Legend of Zelda movie, allowing it to keep control of all aspects of the film.
“By producing visual content 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. 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.”
Movies Based on Video Games Are No Longer a Poisoned Chalice
There was a time when any movie based on a video game was almost guaranteed to fail. Gamers are loyal to their brands and characters but are also highly vocal if something does not live up to their high standards.
Games like Street Fighter, Silent Hill, Doom, and Hitman are iconic video game titles, but their movie spin-offs are nothing short of dreadful, and their box office earnings reflect that. However, the 2022 releases of Uncharted, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Pokemon Detective Pikachu grossed between $400-450 million, showing that such titles are potentially lucrative if they are put together correctly.
With Nintendo remaining heavily involved in all aspects of the upcoming The Legend of Zelda live-action movie and its recent mega-success of the animated Super Mario Bros. Movie, everything points to The Legend of Zelda becoming a global hit and a film worthy of carrying the name of one of video gaming’s most love franchises.