Dinesh Shamdasani, an executive producer at Hivemind involved in the planned live-action television adaptation of Final Fantasy XIV, announced the project’s cancellation via his X/Twitter account on Wednesday. Responding to inquiries about the project’s status, Shamdasani confirmed that it was “dead.”
When asked if an animation project might have been a safer option, Shamdasani explained that animation would have presented its own challenges, and the rights have reverted to Japan. Writer Jake Thornton also attributed the cancellation to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dead. We took around a fantastic pilot script by Ben Lustig & @jakethornton along with a multi-season plan they built with our show runners but got rejected across the board. The size and scale needed to do it right proved too much for anyone to want to risk. Amazon came closest.
— Dinesh Shamdasani (@dinesh_s) January 23, 2024
In 2019, Sony Pictures and Hivemind revealed plans for a live-action TV series based on the popular game, Final Fantasy XIV, featuring an original storyline set in Eorzea. This adaptation would have marked the first live-action project within the Final Fantasy game series.
The creative team behind the project included writers Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton (known for Winter’s Knight, The Wells Initiative), who also served as executive producers alongside Hivemind’s Jason F. Brown, Sean Daniel, and Dinesh Shamdasani.
While the Final Fantasy XIV Dad of Light live-action television miniseries premiered on Netflix in the United States in September 2017, a live-action film remake featuring a new cast premiered in Japan in June 2019. The game itself released its 6.55 patch, including Part 2 of a new main scenario, on January 16.
The previously announced crossover between Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XVI is set to take place in early April.
The forthcoming “Dawntrail” expansion is slated for a summer 2024 release. True to the tradition of prior expansions and Final Fantasy series titles, Yoshitaka Amano has designed the logo for “Dawntrail.”
Square Enix initially launched Final Fantasy XIV Online for personal computers in September 2010. Following fan feedback, the company introduced an updated version titled Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, which introduced a new world and narrative.
The reimagined version debuted on Windows PC and PS3 in August 2013, on PS4 in April 2014, and on PS5 in May 2020. Subsequently, Square Enix has rolled out four expansions: “Heavensward” in June 2015, “Stormblood” in June 2017, “Shadowbringers” in July 2019, and “Endwalker” in December 2021. As of this month, the game boasts 30 million registered accounts globally.
An open beta test for the Xbox Series X|S is now scheduled for around February 21, with the Xbox version set to launch in spring 2024, featuring faster loading times and 4K support for the Series X.
In February 2022, Square Enix announced its commitment to supporting the MMORPG for the next decade.
