Wes Ball To Direct Live-Action Legend Of Zelda Film Based On The Popular Video Game Franchise
Watch out, Mario, because Link's right behind you! "The Legend of Zelda," arguably Nintendo's second most-famous franchise, is getting its own movie adaptation — but this time, it'll be in live-action. According to Nintendo, director Wes Ball ("The Maze Runner" trilogy, the upcoming "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes") is set to direct the film, which will be produced by video game creator Shigeru Miyamoto ("The Super Mario Bros. Movie") and Avi Arad ("Spider-Man"). Nintendo and Sony Pictures Entertainment will co-produce the film, with Nintendo providing more than half of the financing, and Sony will handle theatrical distribution around the globe. This isn't the first time someone's tried to make a live-action version of the world of Hyrule, but hopefully Sony Pictures has better luck than Netflix did with their ill-fated attempt at an adaptation a few years back.
Plans for a "Legend of Zelda" movie are still in the nascent stages, of course, but it's also pretty exciting, because there are so many incredible stories in the franchise for Sony to choose from. Sony and Nintendo have more than enough money to give a live-action adaptation of "The Legend of Zelda" the kind of massive budget it's going to need, because Hyrule is full of magical creatures and stunning landscapes that are truly out of this world.
Some big questions
The very first "The Legend of Zelda" game was released in 1986 for the Famicom, the early home gaming system that was simply known as the Nintendo Entertainment System in the United States. Since then, there have been more than a dozen new games in the series, with the latest one hitting shelves this year. Created by Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, the games follow Link, a young adventurer who almost always ends up saving the world from some manner of devastation at the hands of Ganon, the series' ultimate villain. Zelda, by the way, is the name of the princess of Hyrule, who is a lot less helpless than many of her '80s video game counterparts.
While I absolutely love the idea of a live-action "Legend of Zelda" movie or television series, I do have quite a few questions. The movie's tone and audience could be pretty different depending on which "Zelda" game ends up being adapted, if they choose to adapt a specific game. There's also the possibility of a totally new story set in the world of Hyrule, drawing from fan-favorite elements of multiple games. Whatever they decide to do, the biggest challenge facing the folks in charge is figuring out how to make Link a compelling protagonist. One of the most enduring things about all versions of Link is that they do not talk. How are you going to make an entire movie with your hero only grunting and huffing? Will Navi be annoying purely out of fan service? Will we see Sheik?!
"The Legend of Zelda" movie is still a long ways out, but Miyamoto tweeted the following: "I have been working on the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda for many years now with Avi Arad-san, who has produced many mega hit films. I have asked Avi-san to produce this film with me, and we have now officially started the development of the film with Nintendo itself heavily involved in the production. It will take time until its completion, but I hope you look forward to seeing it."
We certainly do.