Sony and Nintendo are rivals in the video game space, but the two have partnered up for the upcoming live-action film adaptation of The Legend of Zelda. CEO Kenichiro Hirada used part of his Consumer Electronics Show 2024 speech to hype up the film. An executive touting a new release is no surprise, but the history between Sony and Nintendo makes this a fun little development.
“This live-action film will deliver an amazing tale of adventure and discovery,” Hirada said at CES, adding that he’s excited to see the movie come to fruition.
Sony Pictures specifically, not the game division at Sony Interactive Entertainment, is producing the Zelda movie alongside Nintendo and Marvel producer Avi Arad. The companies announced their partnership in late 2023, and another key detail is that Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto is overseeing the film. He also held an advisory role on 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which made more than $1.3 billion at the box office.
Back in 2015, The Wall Street Journal cited an anonymous source in its report that the studio was working on a live-action The Legend of Zelda TV show for Netflix. However, former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told Time Magazine that the claim was “not based on correct information.” The rumor surfaced again in 2018, this time with Castlavania director Adi Shankar attached to the series.
What’s clear now is that a live-action Zelda movie is actually happening, and The Maze Runner’s Wes Ball is attached to direct. There is no word yet on what the story will be and who might play Zelda and Link in the film.
33 years ago, Sony and Nintendo unveiled the Nintendo PlayStation console at CES 1991. However, Nintendo ultimately backed out of the deal. All 200 prototypes were said to have been destroyed, but some lived in through the years, with one selling in 2020 for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
More recently, a YouTuber built their own Nintendo PlayStation–see it here.
