Summary
Final Fantasy 7is a massively influential work, and it seems thatThe Marvelsdirector Nia DeCosta drew inspiration from theAdvent Childrenanimated sequel while pitching her upcoming superhero blockbuster. BeforeFinal Fantasy 7 Remakeoffered an expanded look at Square Enix’s landmark JRPG, the story of Cloud Strife and his friendscontinued in theCompilation of Final Fantasy 7, an expanded universe of games, novels, and even a full-length feature film that built off the original’s lore.
One of the biggest components of this expanded universe wasFinal Fantasy 7: Advent Children, an animated movie that was released in 2005. Set two years after the events of the originalFinal Fantasy 7,Advent Childrensees Cloud and the rest of Team AVALANCHE cope with the aftermath of Sephiroth’s machinations while investigating a mysterious illness that is infecting Midgar’s children. The movie is warmly regarded amongFinal Fantasy 7fans for its impressive animation and blistering action sequences, andFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthdirector Tetsuya Nomurahas hinted that his series will connect toAdvent Childrenin some way.
Meanwhile, the upcoming MCU blockbusterThe Marvelstook inspiration fromFinal Fantasy 7: Advent Children, at least according to the film’s director, Nia DeCosta. She recently sat down with IGN (viaComicBook.com) ahead ofThe Marvels’release later this week, where she explained how she first pitched the movie to Marvel Studios. DeCosta described howAdvent Childrenhas “really great fight scenes and has a really great ending sequence” of Cloud being tossed into the sky by his comrades in a battle against the rampaging Bahamut SIN.
While this andother sequences fromFinal Fantasy 7: Advent Childrenplayed a major inspiration for DeCosta’sThe Marvelspitch, she also noted that she didn’t want the movie to “look like a video game,” an all-too-common criticism leveled against recent superhero films and their action scenes. That being said, DeCosta goes on to list the cutscenes from other games likeThe Last of UsandHorizon Zero Dawn, and says that their cinematic nature inspires her to play them and make films likeThe Marvels.
Nia DeCosta clearly has a love of video games likeFinal Fantasy 7and the storytelling that games can immerse players in, and this affection helped inspire her while makingThe Marvels. Given that both it andFinal Fantasy 7:Advent Childrenare part of larger connected franchises, it seems somewhat fitting that the latter influenced DeCosta’s early pitch forThe Marvels. Fans will be able to see how deep this influence goes onceThe Marvelshits theaters on November 10.
Final Fantasy 7
Mako—the discovery of this natural resource drawn directly from the planet’s life force marked the dawn of a new era, and now the energy sustains the lives of people across the world. However, the Shinra Company has monopolized mako production, and in doing so established a powerful hegemony–its influence reaching the far corners of the globe.Cloud, a former member of Shinra’s military organization, SOLDIER, joins the anti-Shinra resistance group AVALANCHE, despite caring little for their motives. During one of the group’s attempts to stop the company, they learn of the return of Sephiroth, Cloud’s nemesis, and that with his reemergence, the planet is in greater danger than anyone had expected.With the fate of the world riding on their success, Cloud and his allies set out to quell this deadly threat.
