Legend of Zelda Movie in Production at Nintendo

Following hot on the heels of 2023’s second highest-earning film in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Nintendo has announced its next film. But there’s a twist: it's co-financed by Nintendo rivals Sony.

In an official press release, Nintendo says it's adapting arguably its most successful franchise outside of the Mushroom Kingdom.

“The film will be produced by Shigeru Miyamoto, Representative Director and Fellow of Nintendo and Avi Arad, Chairman of Arad Productions Inc., who has produced many mega hit films,” the press release states.

Unlike the computer-animated Super Mario Bros. Movie, however, the Zelda movie will be live-action. Legendary Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto said as much in his statement. “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,” he says.

“I have asked Avi-san to produce this 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.”

The director currently attached to the movie is Wes Ball (The Maze Runner trilogy, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes), but with a long way to go before filming even starts, it’s not necessarily a given he’ll see it through. Afterall, the Scarface reboot hit a major roadblock recently when it lost its director.

Nintendo isn’t the only video game company involved. In fact, they’re partnering with big console rivals Sony, who manufacturer the PlayStation. Sony Pictures Entertainment is co-financing the film, as well as handing worldwide theatrical distribution.

It’s no surprise Nintendo is keen to follow up the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Not only was it one of only three films to make over a billion at the box office in 2023, but Zelda itself is more popular than ever. The latest game in the series, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has sold 20 million copies on Switch in six months.