Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, sweepstakes, and more!
Live-action Final Fantasy TV series coming from Sony Pictures, Square Enix
"Now! This is it! Now is the time to choose! Die and be free of pain or live and fight your sorrow! Now is the time to shape your stories! Your fate is in your hands!"
Today, Sony Pictures Television announced its partnership with developer Square Enix and production company Hivemind (Netflix's The Witcher) to create a live-action TV show based on the best-selling Final Fantasy video game series.
"Television is the ideal medium to capture the extraordinary depth, sophisticated themes, and unparalleled imagination of Final Fantasy and its multitude of unique and fully realized characters," said Jason Brown, Hivemind Co-Founder and Co-President. "We are working tirelessly to bring together artists from around the world who are united in honoring the extraordinary legacy of this franchise and its millions of fans around the world."
"The live-action TV series will tell an original story set in the fantastic world of Eorzea, a continuously growing world first introduced in Final Fantasy XIV – the series' first massive multiplayer online game – that incorporates elements and characters from across the franchise’s 30-year history," reads the official press release. "[It will explore] the struggle between magic and technology in a quest to bring peace to a land in conflict" and be filled with iconic hallmarks of the title’s revered mythology, including magitek and beastmen, airships and chocobos, among others.
Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton are attached as writers and executive producers. The show will also be produced by Jason F. Brown (The Expanse), Sean Daniel (Universal's Mummy reboot), and Dinesh Shamdasani (Bloodshot).
In terms of characters, the release promises “a mixture of new and familiar faces, including the live-action debut of Cid – the beloved, fan-favorite anti-hero who has appeared in nearly every incarnation of the Final Fantasy mythos."
At E3 earlier in the month, Square Enix teased two major releases in the 32-year-old franchise: a remake of Final Fantasy VII and a remastered edition of Final Fantasy IX. To date, the series has sold 144 million units worldwide. Along with Call of Duty, Minecraft, and Grand Theft Auto, it's one of the best-selling video game titles ever.
“Final Fantasy XIV and Eorzea are the perfect gateway into Final Fantasy for longtime fans and newcomers alike,” said Sony Pictures Television Co-President Chris Parnell. “This show is about embracing and embodying all of the elements that have made the mythos such an endlessly captivating phenomenon, and it’s an immense honor to be bringing all of Eorzea’s iconic characters, settings, and concepts – including fan-favorites like Cid and, of course, the chocobos – to life for a television audience."
