Sony Pictures Television has announced that they are working on a live-action TV series based on Final Fantasy XIV. The TV series will be produced in collaboration with the company Hivemind.
What kind of series will this be? The announced TV series will take place in the world of Final Fantasy XIV, according to the press release from Sony. The setting will therefore be Eorzea. However, the plot of the series will not follow the story of the MMORPG.
At the center of the series will be the battle between magic and technology, as well as the mission to bring peace to a conflict-ridden land.
There are no more specific details about the story yet, but the series is said to include many classic Final Fantasy elements, such as Chocobos, airships, and the character Cid. The co-president of Sony Pictures Television commented:
Final Fantasy XIV is perfect for both long-time fans of Final Fantasy and newcomers. This series is about encompassing and embodying all the elements that have made the “Final Fantasy” mythos such an infinitely captivating phenomenon.
Chris Parnell
Who is working on the TV series? The series is being produced in collaboration between Sony Productions Television and the company Hivemind. In particular, Hivemind has gained a lot of attention in the gaming world in recent months for their work on the live-action series of The Witcher, which is set to air on Netflix.
The producers include people like Sean Daniel (Mummy films) and Jason F. Brown (remake of Ben Hur).
When will the series be released? No approximate release date for the TV series has been announced yet. However, screenwriter Jake Thornton tweeted that he has been working on the project for 2.5 years, which means that the production of the Final Fantasy series is already quite advanced.
It is also unknown which streaming service will take on the broadcasting. A release on Netflix is possible. Both Square Enix and Hivemind have previously worked with the platform: Square with “Dad of Light” and Hivemind on the live-action series of The Witcher. However, this is not confirmed.
Enthusiasm is limited
What are the initial reactions? On Reddit and social media, the enthusiasm surrounding the announcement of the live-action series is limited. Many fans on the official FFXIV Subreddit have expressed very low expectations for the series:
NO! OH GOD PLEASE NO! NO, NO, NO!
immadoosh
Especially the appearance of the various races in FFXIV, particularly the Lalafell, has players in the forums very worried. It is hard to imagine how the producers will manage to make them look good.
Miqo’te and Au Ra in live-action. They [the producers] will never figure out how to make both of them not look terrible.
EleanorGreywolfe
Others reacted to the announcement with humor. User ARX__Arbalest wrote: “Well… the Eighth Calamity has come, friends.” He thus compares the TV series to the elemental calamities that play an important role in the history of FFXIV and cause much suffering.
Why are fans skeptical? Besides the notoriously bad reputation of live-action adaptations of video games, the production company Hivemind and the producers of the upcoming TV series are the main reasons for fans’ skepticism.
In recent months, Hivemind has made headlines with their Witcher series, particularly as fans mocked the poor design of the Nilfgaardian armor.
As for the producers Sean Daniel and Jason Brown, their recent films include the remake of Ben Hur and the reboot of “The Mummy.” Both films received very modest ratings on the rating platform Rotten Tomatoes of 25% and 16%.
Many fans would also prefer an anime that takes place in the FFXIV universe rather than a live-action series, especially after Square Enix recently released two Japanese anime TV spots titled “Choose your life” just before the Early Access of Shadowbringers.
User baroqueworks wrote: “An anime would be so much better than a live-action series. Live-action has so much more potential to fail […].”
