Should there be a theatrical Final Fantasy movie?

Shaissa

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I have heard some talks from friends who play Final Fantasy who want them to try and do another Theatrical Final Fantasy release, now that movie games are getting big on that (assassins creed, halo I think is getting one, Warcraft, Hitman and so on.)

so would you want a theatrical release of a Final Fantasy movie? if so would you want it to be an original story line or one based off a game, and how would you want it made (animated, full cgi, live action etc?)

For me I just don't see any good of this, I don't even really enjoy VII Advent Children, I actually think that Spirit Within was better than Advent Children... granted I don't think Spirit Within was that good either, but that is just my opinion.

What do you guys think?

Edit: If a Mod could fix the title (there not Their) that would be great! :D
 
The Kingsglaive FFXV film is technically a theatrical film, but it's only limited to Japanese cinemas. This is despite the fact that its art style goes out of its way to look as appealing as possible to western audiences that it resembles the most Game of Thrones-like Final Fantasy property there currently is. I think this says something about Square's current confidence in having a full feature Final Fantasy theatrical release once again grace the western big screen - that is to say, they would much rather the less risky route of a Blu-Ray and digital release.

First question is to ask what it can possibly be about and who it is for if they were to try their hand at it once more and try to revive that crushed dream that died with Spirits Within. The problem with telling any form of prequel or a sequel to an existing story is that you can exclude an enormous share of the potential audience. No studio is going to throw an exorbitant budget at something that immediately goes about doing the opposite of reaching out to as wide an audience as possible. Perhaps the exception is the Warcraft film, where from my understanding it is a story based on the lore of the franchise, and one set many years before the events of the games themselves, so on paper it toes that line between being a lore-enriching experience for long-time fans, and being accessible enough for a layman audience to be able to enjoy this as a relatively self-contained fantasy flick. Final Fantasy however, doesn't exactly have this same kind of long running single universe with a consistent lore that has been around for decades to draw upon.

As such, you would inevitably decide to opt for a film set in a fresh new setting that still retains the traditional "feel" of Final Fantasy's myriad of recurring elements more than Spirits Within ever did. As a standalone CG film, it could work provided it's handled with due diligent care by competent scriptwriters. To relate back to the Kingsglaive point above, I don't see Square reviving any confidence or desire to test the waters for a full theatrical release in the west, so it would likely to direct to video. The question is: what's the point? Is there any desire from fans to see another CG Final Fantasy film? Visualworks has to find work somehow I am sure (that much I can gather) and the CG work for Kingsglaive does currently look tantalisingly terrific, but I'm struggling to see why they will bother throwing so much time and money into creating any standalone CG film. Advent Children was riding on the coattails of FFVII, so its existence is obvious. Kingsglaive appears to be an extremely expensive means of trying to revive the Final Fantasy brand in the public consciousness, so that appears to be a more long-term goal. Given the frightening budget that must have been pumped into FFXV thus far, I don't want to imagine how much has been invested into a FFXV side-quel film. Whether there is any "point" to another CG movie may well be contingent on how this latest experiment works out.

I was thinking of a live action film with a good mix of CG in the vain of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and what Warcraft will be, but that can live or die depending on which production company shall get the prestigious job, who will be brave and bold enough to take on director, producer and scriptwriter duties, and what budget anyone is prepared to throw at this. If they're prepared to throw a big budget and be prepared for the inflated risk of a box office disaster, I'm picturing some kind of re-imagining of FFVII, or at the very least a setting that mutes as much of the Japanese aesthetics as possible for something more akin to a western fantasy epic. Who would this appeal to? Who knows. Fans won't like it. We all know that. If no one is prepared to throw in much of a budget on this, or even dedicate much effort, your result would be somewhere between Dungeons and Dragons and something like Bloodrayne - i.e. some rubbish that even Uwe Boll would not deem to be beyond his ability to make. And that will be an embarrassing kick to the kneecaps of the franchise's global reputation; the reputation of Final Fantasy that Square seems so determined to now grow back and nurture after the last decade.

In conclusion? I don't know why there should be another movie. I don't know who is asking for one. I can't hazard any reasonable guess at the moment as to what it can be about without being an inevitable box office tank, but I can probably safely bet that it won't see a theatrical release outside of Japan.

And yes, I do concur. Spirits Within is dull ditch water and a slog to sit through, but it's still more coherent and well-written than Advent Children. The latter has its nonsensical, physics-defying flashy fight scenes going for it, but if you can make a game that also has that kind of nonsensical, physics-defying flashy combat system, there's no need for a movie and you can actually fill in a release schedule with something for the gamer fans!
 
My answer is yes, but I will also say that the timing isn't right. The west is still going through the process of taking different types of media seriously when it goes to the big screen regardless of the format that is presented. I think Marvel IPs have helped greatly in that fight since at least the 2000's. The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Deadpool are just some examples. Then there is the recent Batman trilogy that finished out. The west's mindset just isn't ready yet for Eastern based products. When you see stuff like this in the past tense:
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it will create a cringy moment to say the least. Granted, not all hope is lost with the timing being in a reasonable time span. Scarlett Johansson is going to be playing as The Major in the live action Ghost in the Shell film that is suppose to come out next year. Despite a good number of people jumping up in arms over this not being a good choice because The Major is Japanesse, there are two things to consider:
1. Cybornetic bodies can be of any ethnic background as that's a possibility in the lore.
2. The Major while being Japanesee still appears to look like a white person in my eyes.

If this live action movie does well in the west, then that's one step closer to gaming adaptations that are Eastern based being taken more seriously in the west. The series that the OP mentioned I am sure are western made by default, which does help their possible success imo. Having a big named actress be willing to take part in an Eastern made series is a step in the right direction imo.

Sorry for the off topic randomness.
 
Final Fantasy is in a bit of a tough spot when it comes to movie adaptations. Since each new numbered game is a completely stand-alone story, there are only two real possibilities for a movie: 1) a completely stand-alone movie, or 2) a tie-in to a game. The problem with option #1 is that it begs the question, what makes a Final Fantasy movie still Final Fantasy if all it has in common with the games is the names? The problem with option #2 is that in the west you immediately alienate everyone who has no interest in the videogame being tied into. So both are risks in their own way.

The reason why Kingsglaive works in the west is because it sidesteps both issues by tying into a game and then being advertised directly to that game's audience, not the general public.

The reason it works in Japan is because, well, Japan is used to tie-in movies. Many TV anime receive a theatrical sequel and it's expected that viewers have seen the TV series and know right where the story leaves off. In fact, tie-ins in general are a big part of Japanese media. It's inception: create a lot of tie-ins and people assume a thing is popular, and therefore they're interested and want to know what the series is about, and thereby they make it popular.

So it depends on which region the hypothetical movie would be made for. Kingsglaive is honestly made more for the west considering its themes and art style and voice acting talent. But the way for a stand-alone Final Fantasy movie to work would be to make it very Japanese. And that's what we haven't seen Square Enix be brave enough to do yet.
 
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