Video game franchise adaptations are back in the spotlight and you needn’t look further on Thursday as of Sony Pictures Television’s latest announcement to bring Final Fantasy to television. The series will be a joint effort with Hivemind (Amazon’s The Expanse, upcoming Netflix’s The Witcher), and global video game powerhouse Square Enix.
Based on events from the 2013 installment, Final Fantasy XIV, SPTV’s Final Fantasy series will tell an original story set in the fantastic world of Eorzea. The new series will embrace the bold and genre-bending sensibilities of the revered and long-running RPG game saga as it explores the struggle between magic and technology in a quest to bring peace to a land in conflict. Filled with iconic hallmarks of the title’s revered mythology – magitek and beastmen, airships and chocobos – the forthcoming series will feature a mixture of new and familiar faces. Those will, notably, include the live-action debut of Cid – one of the games’ central and most beloved characters who has appeared in almost every installment of the franchise to date.
The Final Fantasy games have sold more than 144 million units worldwide across three decades and has become one of the most storied and influential franchises in gaming history. The saga has also spanned toys, card games, manga, soundtracks, concerts and live events on three continents, as well as CG-animated features; SPTV’s Final Fantasy television series hails a new milestone for the franchise in its debut into live-action territory.
“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.”
“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.”
Jason F. Brown, Sean Daniel, and Dinesh Shamdasani of Hivemind will exec produce alongside the show’s commisioned writers, exec producers Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton (Winter’s Knight, The Wells Initiative).