Nintendo may have been protective of Super Mario Bros. for several decades, but they struck gold with the billion-dollar success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Now, the studio is set to mine its IP for spinoffs, and one project in the works is a live-action The Legend of Zelda movie by Maze Runner director Wes Ball. While fans are eagerly awaiting an update on that movie, some other video game movie writers have an idea for another Zelda project, but it will adapt a specific video game.
The Legend of Zelda: Into the Zelda-Verse
In a recent talk with IGN, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller were asked about any potential projects; while they couldn’t go into specifics of some of the titles they were working on, they did get open about wanting to make an adaptation of 2002’s The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Miller explained:
“I think another easy one I think we can answer because the movie's already happening and we're already not doing it would be a Zelda. I remember always when we played Wind Waker, we were always like, man, I mean, it would probably be weird if they made a Zelda movie to start with Wind Waker versus the more classic Hyrule. But we both loved Wind Waker and it's so cinematic. Yeah. So after they make this Zelda movie, I guess we're putting it out there in the world, maybe we can do a Wind Waker spin-off.”
While Wes Ball’s movie is expected to embrace high fantasy like the Dungeons and Dragons movie or Lord of the Rings, The Wind Waker embraces a more animated look for Link and the rest of Hyrule.
With the Spider-Man franchise having live-action versions as well as the animated Spider-Verse movies, it’s possible a Wind Waker series could manage to work should it get greenlit.
The Legend of Link
If anything, the lore of the Zelda games opens itself up to reinterpretation every few years because every entry essentially reboots the universe of Hyrule to make way for a new story; the only common ground would be characters like Link, Zelda, Ganon, and other side characters that function the same way.
This format is actually pretty commonplace with several Japanes properties. Final Fantasy subscribes to this model, as well as the Mobile Suit Gundam series. What’s also great is that each interpretation also opens itself up to spinoffs (like Final Fantasy VII).
While the live-action Zelda is expected to have an original continuity, the idea of The Wind Waker getting adapted should come with its own set of expectations from the fans.
With the Sonic movies doing really well at the box office though, it seems like Casey and Miller would be perfect choices should Nintendo decide to make an animated Zelda movie. After all, fans were hoping the movie was animated when the live-action movie was announced.
No release date has been set for the live-action Legend of Zelda, but fans can check out Sonic the Hedgehog 3 now in theaters.
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!