Legend Of Zelda Director Wants To Make Live-Action Film With A Style Like Miyazaki

After the success of Mario’s animated film earlier this year, one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time, if you recall, many were curious about what Nintendo and its partners would reveal next. The answer shocked many as Shigeru Miyamoto himself confirmed that one of the company’s future projects is a live-action Legend Of Zelda film directed by Wes Ball. Miyamoto and Avi Arad would also oversee the project. While a release window wasn’t given, the movie has gotten many people wondering what it will look like and be like and be as well-received as Mario’s production.

Entertainment Weekly was able to get in touch with Wes Ball, and he admitted that he was a fan of Legend of Zelda when he was a kid and wants to do right with this film. However, he also doesn’t want to fall into a certain trap that many think he could dive into. Specifically, he knows that the series is fantasy-based, but he doesn’t want it to look like the numerous other fantasy-style films that have already come out. So, what does he want it to be like? A Hayao Miyazaki film:

“I’ve always said, I would love to see a live-action Miyazaki. That wonder and whimsy that he brings to things, I would love to see something like that,” Ball said. “It’s going to be awesome. My whole life has led up to this moment. I grew up on Zelda and it is the most important property, I think, that’s untapped IP, if you will. So we very much are working hard to do something. We’re not just trying to do it because we can. We want to make something really special.”

We do appreciate his desire to do something different, and many have wondered what it would be like if this franchise was like a Miyazaki film. Heck, a person went into Unreal Engine 5 recently and recreated Clock Town in that style! How that’ll translate to live-action is the big question.

If you’re looking for answers on when we’ll hear more about this project, there’s some bad news on that front. Ball also noted in the interview that the script was still being written, and he’s finishing another movie project before going into this next one. So, at best, we’ll be waiting for at least most of 2024 before getting anything meaningful.

Thankfully, franchise fans are used to waiting for things to happen.