Sony Pictures Television, Square Enix, and Hivemind, the production company behind Netflix’s upcoming version of The Witcher, recently announced a collaboration for a live-action television series in the Final Fantasy XIV universe.
The series’ narrative will be an original story based in Eorzea, but will still focus on the game’s central themes of the struggle between magic and technology.
Of course, that means plenty of Magitek, chocobos, airships, fighting, fancy costumes, and series-staple Cid, who will be making his live-action debut in the forthcoming show. In addition to recognizable characters, though, the FFXIV TV show will also likely introduce several new faces.
The news comes a short while after both FFXIV‘s Shadowbringers expansion was shown off at E3 and after Sony announced the birth of PlayStation productions, a new studio tackling the challenge of creating quality video game movies and potentially TV shows as well.
The FFXIV TV adaptation isn’t coming from PlayStation Productions, but it certainly seems as though it’s following the general philosophy behind the latter, which is to create complementary material that both furthers the game’s own narrative while filling the gap between content releases.
Chris Parnell, Sony Pictures Television’s Co-President, mentioned something to that end as well, saying:
FINAL FANTASY XIV and Eorzea are the perfect gateway into FINAL FANTASY for longtime fans and newcomers alike.
This show is about embracing and embodying all of the elements that have made the mythos such an endlessly captivating phenomenon…
In other words, it’s set to do what transmedia does best: introducing new audiences to the franchise’s main medium and spinoffs, while still providing a compelling narrative and overall experience for established fans.
Jason Brown, Hivemind’s Co-Founder, said television is the best choice for a production like this since it allows for greater depth and theme development. He also made an interesting comment that could suggest the FFXIV series gets a new or revamped art style, stating the production team is gathering artists from around the world to honor the franchise and its legacy.
To what extent a quest-based MMO can be translated into a full series wasn’t addressed, nor did the press release offer a timeline for when we can expect the finished product or more updates.
