Whenever gamers hear that someone is making a new adaptation of a gaming franchise, there’s almost always going to be a hesitating breath that follows from gamers. Why? Because they know that, if done right, the adaptation COULD be good. Or, it could be one that ends up in the sewers of cinema history, never to be spoken of again for all the right reasons. When Nintendo confirmed that a Legend of Zelda movie was coming, fans didn’t hold their breath at first. After all, Mario had just had a successful animated movie by Illumination, and this felt like the next logical step. But then, they announced the movie would be live-action, and the breaths have been held ever since.
To be fair, the project is being headed up by industry veteran Wes Ball, who has a big-budget film coming out soon featuring a bunch of apes…no, really, that’s a true statement and a joke all at the same time! Regardless, he is someone who has worked with unique worlds and blending CGI with real people, so he could make a Legend of Zelda movie work should things go well. While we don’t know much about the film regarding plot, casting, and so on, we do know that Ball is in the early stages of putting everything together, and as he told Total Film, he has a clear vision of what he thinks it should be:
“I have this awesome idea. I’ve been thinking about it for a long freakin’ time, of how cool a Zelda movie would be… I want to fulfill people’s greatest desires. I know it’s important, this [Zelda] franchise, to people and I want it to be a serious movie. A real movie that can give people an escape. I want to live in that world. That’s the thing I want to try to create – it’s got to feel like something real. Something serious and cool, but fun and whimsical.”
That might sound contradictory at first, but that’s honestly what the franchise is at its core. It’s a story set in a world where you can have incredibly dark threats plunging the world into disarray, where only a lone hero can save it. But then, a little while later, you’re doing side quests where you capture crickets, or go snowboarding via your shield, or meet a weird dude named Tingle.
So yeah, this world is serious, fun, and whimsical all at once. Hopefully, the movie matches what he wants and fan expectations.
