Legend of Zelda Film
The Blind Eternities forum
Posted on June 20, 2020, 9:12 a.m. by DemonDragonJ
For the past several years, rumors have been circulating about an all-CGI Mario film, but, to the best of my knowledge, nothing definite has ever been confirmed, thus far.
Therefore, I am wondering about the possibility of a Legend of Zelda film, because I feel that LoZ is Nintendo's most epic franchise, and deserves a theatrical film (if Pokemon has had numerous animated films and a live-action film, why not LoZ, as well?).
Back in the 1980's, there was a Legend of Zelda animated series (made in the United States, not Japan), but it was extremely corny and campy and is mostly forgotten, today, outside of a very famous internet meme, so, if a feature-length film were to be made, it would need to avoid having such a tone, but that should not be a problem, because, if handled properly, a Legend of Zelda film could be an epic fantasy adventure that would stand beside such illustrious stories as Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, or A Song of Ice and Fire.
One question is whether such a film should adapt the story of one of the games or have an entirely original story, and I feel that it would be best to have an original story that borrows certain elements from various games, without copying them, exactly, akin to how the Warcraft movie adapted the games without directly copying any of them. For example, watching Link traverse eight or more dungeons to find numerous macguffins that he shall use to defeat the villain would not work in a film, but most of the other adventuresome aspects of the game would.
What does everyone else say about this? Would you like to see a Legend of Zelda feature film?
DemonDragonJ says... #3
Last_Laugh, what if a new television series was an epic fantasy, akin to Record of Lodoss War or Scrapped Princess?
June 20, 2020 12:10 p.m.
Colonel_Kink says... #4
a mini series that explores the concepts would be awesome. i reckon majoras mask would be best, cuz it could be done episodically. 3 episodes per cycle, maybe include some groundhog day theme jokes etc.
June 20, 2020 3:54 p.m.
Last_Laugh says... #5
Never seen those honestly (I don't watch much tv). There would have to be more moments where he interacts with villagers etc. to get info regarding the next mcguffin needed for the next dungeon and the reasons he needs them... so yeah, Majora's Mask probably translates to that best.
June 20, 2020 5:11 p.m.
jconeil1988 says... #6
Netflix Original series could work. A movie would have to be done in the tone of Lord of the Rings, and filmed as such, a complete 6+ hour story filmed at once and broke up into three films.
June 20, 2020 7:54 p.m.
I'd love a LOZ movie... but I think the biggest challenge would be the fact that Link typically quests alone and doesn't talk.... like as much as people like lord of the rings it wouldn't exactly be the same movie if it was only frodo and he never spoke....They would need to have other main characters accompanying him and give him dialogue/personality.
The next challenge would be making this story for a feature film length.... not likely to do the franchise justice with a solo film... I think tv series would probably be the best way to go.
June 21, 2020 10:56 p.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #8
jconeil1988, Icbrgr, I have heard that the television adaptation of The Witcher has been doing very well, so that is evidence that the same could possibly work for a television adaptation of LoZ, although LoZ is not quite as dark as is The Witcher (although still much more serious than any other Nintendo franchise, other than Metroid).
June 22, 2020 7:34 a.m.
LOZ may not be dark and gritty but throughout the franchise there is tons of great content and story telling... breath of the wild was really really good and I highly recommend it to gamers in general not just Zelda nerds.... it wins my heart for both plot and gameplay I could spend hours gushing over that game.
HOWEVER... regardless of what universe/game they decided to make into a movie/series it would be very tough to give link dialogue/personality. I am sure we can do better then "excuse me princess" but part of what makes Link into being one of the best video game protagonists ever is the fact that he doesn't speak because it gives us as the player the ability to project ourselves/whatever we want onto the character...what I mean by this is that even though many of us have played the same zelda games over the years and have done the same adventures and obstacles we all have our own vision/version of Link in our heads giving lots of room to disappoint longtime fans.... but I guess depending how it's done, it could for the better?... take the Marvel movies for example, many aren't exactly 100% accurate to the source material but at the same time manage to pull it off better as a live adaptation.... I'll take MCU Tony Stark over the comic tony stark anyday imo.
June 22, 2020 8:38 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #10
Icbrgr, I have played only four games in the franchise, thus far, but I have heard that Twilight Princess was much darker than most other games in this series, and, since most players speak of it very highly, that darker tone clearly worked.
Last_Laugh says... #2
Zelda games have never struck me as something that can be done in 2 hours for a cinematic experience. If anything it'd have to be episodes but the 80's cartoon version still leaves a bad taste in my mouth...
June 20, 2020 10:41 a.m.