Still doubtless beaming from the runaway success of this year’s Super Mario Bros. movie, Shigeru Miyamoto has confirmed a live-action The Legend of Zelda movie is in the works.
Details are sparse at present, but Miyamoto, announcing the news on Nintendo Japan’s Twitter/X account, said the project has already been in development for “many years now”. As per an accompanying press release, Miyamoto will produce the movie – which is being co-financed by Nintendo and Sony Pictures Entertainment (Sony will also handle worldwide theatrical distribution) – with Avi Arad, responsible for “many hit films”, also producing.
Arad’s films, if you’re wondering, are primarily (but not exclusively) within the superhero genre, ranging from this year’s acclaimed Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and its celebrated 2018 predecessor, to 2022’s Tom-Holland-starring Uncharted adaptation, as well as the likes of Venom, Morbius, the live-action Ghost in the Shell, and next year’s Borderlands movie.
Nintendo’s live-action Zelda adaptation will be helmed by Wes Ball – who directed the three Maze Runner films and next year’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes – but don’t expect to see it in cinemas any time soon. “It will take time until its completion,” Miyamoto explained in his announcement, “but I hope you look forward to seeing it.”
“By getting deeply involved in the movie production with the aim to put smiles on everyone’s faces through entertainment,” Nintendo added, “[the company] will continue its efforts to produce unique entertainment and deliver it to as many people as possible.”