The Zelda movie director Wes Ball wants to make Nintendo’s next movie like a “live-action Miyazaki” movie. That’s a pretty broad statement, as the Studio Ghibli founder’s works run the gamut from cozy comedy to wartime tragedy, but Ball narrowed down what he meant a little in an interview with EW.
What Ball has in mind is “this awesome fantasy-adventure movie that isn’t like Lord of the Rings, it’s its own thing,” he said. “I’ve always said, I would love to see a live-action Miyazaki. That wonder and whimsy that he brings to things, I would love to see something like that.”
That vision is just a vision for now, though. Ball is finishing post-production on Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and plans on taking a rest before diving into the Zelda movie script.
“It’s going to be awesome,” Ball said. “My whole life has led up to this moment. I grew up on Zelda and it is the most important property, I think, that’s untapped IP, if you will. So we very much are working hard to do something. We’re not just trying to do it because we can. We want to make something really special.”
Zelda and Super Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto is co-producing the film with Avi Arad (Into the Spiderverse) and Arad’s production company Arad Productions. Nintendo will finance more than half of the film, while Sony Pictures Entertainment will also finance the film and distribute it film theatrically worldwide.
“By producing visual contents 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,” Nintendo said in the original press release. “By getting deeply involved in 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.”
Written by Josh BRoadwell on behalf of GLHF
