This is a trailer for a fan-film based on Final Fantasy VI. It looks fantastic. And it will probably never be made.
That may sound overly cynical, but history has not treated these sort of projects well. Just a month ago, a team of film-makers launched a Kickstarter for their Final Fantasy VII fan-film, and Square Enix's lawyers promptly shut them down for violating copyright. The folks behind that fan-film tried to get permission from Square to make it happen, but they never quite could.
Kickstarter was the problem, there. Making fan-films on your own is usually kosher, but as soon as you try to make money, the lawyers come out.
So the same thing may very well happen here. These guys also plan to try to get the rights from Square Enix, then launch their own Kickstarter campaign to make a full film based on the above trailer. (Which looks spectacular. Seriously: watch it. Those special effects.)
Ben Pohl, who runs the production company putting this together, says they're hoping to make it happen, no matter how unlikely it may be. He says he won't make the same mistake as the FFVI folks and launch a Kickstarter without Square Enix's permission. But he's also not going to give up very easily.
"Getting their blessing is a Hail Mary, I know," Pohl said. "But I'm too ambitious not to try. And besides, making the trailer was an amazing experience."
"So what happens if you don't get their blessing?" I asked.
"That's a great question. I'm honestly not sure. We could continue to go it alone and invest in it ourselves, like we did the trailer. But we finished that yesterday and I'm still decompressing from that experience," Pohl said. "If there was a way to do it both cheap and good, then maybe. Ideally, the trailer would show Square Enix that we can be trusted to make a quality, high-concept production. That the high-end visuals that FFVI deserves are within our reach.
"If all that ever happens is this trailer, then I'm happy. This was an absolute hoot to make. From the amazing costume designer, to the professional actors, I had the time of my life."