Nintendo Is Finally Making a Live-Action 'Legend of Zelda' Movie

Nintendo announced Tuesday that it will develop a live-action film based on its popular video game franchise, The Legend of Zelda. 

The movie will be produced by Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto and Arad Productions' Avi Arad, known for films like the “Spider-Man” series. Wes Ball, director of the “Maze Runner” trilogy, will direct the film which will be co-financed by Nintendo and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Sony will handle worldwide theatrical distribution. 

"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," the company said in a statement.

The Legend of Zelda games follow protagonist Link in a fantasy world as he battles the evil Ganon to rescue Princess Zelda. The original game was released in 1986 on the Nintendo Entertainment System, and the franchise has since sold over 100 million copies worldwide across more than 20 titles.

Miyamoto, the franchise co-creator, wrote in an official Nintendo tweet that he has been working on the film adaptation "for many years now." A Legend of Zelda film adaptation has indeed been rumored for years.

Nintendo was famously reticent to make feature film adaptations of its popular game franchises following the poor reception of 1993’s live action “Super Mario Bros.” movie. However, the company finally came around, and this year’s animated “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” was a smash hit, notching solid reviews while earning $1.36 billion worldwide.

Editor’s note: This article was written with the assistance of AI. Edited and fact-checked by Andrew Hayward.