The recently announced movie will be directed by ‘The Maze Runner’ helmer Wes Ball.

Image via Nintendo

The Big Picture

Nintendo is finally developing a live-action Legend of Zelda movie after years of rumors and speculation. Fans are excited to see Link and Hyrule brought to life on the big screen. The project has been in development for about a decade with involvement from Shigeru Miyamoto and producer Avi Arad. Nintendo wants to ensure the film lives up to the high standards of the franchise. The movie is still in early stages and there is no indication yet about the specific direction it will take. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are strong possibilities for inspiration. Nintendo will take their time to make sure the film satisfies both fans and the company itself.

News broke earlier this week that Nintendo is at long last developing a live-action feature film based on one of their flagship franchises, The Legend of Zelda. Beyond fan desires to see the green tunic-donning hero Link brought to life on the big screen, there have been rumblings for years about the possibility of a project based in Hyrule including a reported live-action series at Netflix that was canned. According to a new financial briefing from the gaming giant, this particular project has been around a decade in the making for Shigeru Miyamoto and producer Avi Arad.

During the Q&A session including Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa and other directors and executives, Miyamoto gave more insight into the long-gestating project and the challenges that lie ahead in creating a film adaptation that will appeal to fans of their beloved action-adventure franchise worldwide. “Regarding the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda, I know we face an extremely high hurdle in producing a film that will not disappoint the global fan base,” he began. “With this challenge in mind, I have been discussing this project with Avi Arad, Chairman of Arad Productions Inc., for about 10 years.”

Understandably, Nintendo wants to be careful with The Legend of Zelda. The company has been very trepidatious about lending out its most recognizable IP and, despite the overwhelming success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, they likely understand an especially delicate touch is needed to capture the feel of Hyrule and its varied denizens. With that in mind, don’t expect the Zelda movie to come anytime soon, especially since it took over five years for Illumination’s Mario movie to arrive from when it was announced. Miyamoto affirmed that this project won’t reach theaters until they are beyond confident that it reaches the lofty standards of the franchise:

“Movies are just like games, in that you need to spend a lot of time working on them until you get to something you’re satisfied with. Movies therefore need sponsors who can lend their full support until completion. For the production of our movies, Nintendo itself acts as a sponsor. To produce the movie, we were able to assemble a group of people who are willing to commit time to the production until we come up with something we feel confident about.”

What We Know So Far About Nintendo and Sony’s ‘Legend of Zelda’ Movie

The Legend of Zelda movie is still very early in development, so there’s no indication of where the film, helmed by The Maze Runner and upcoming Kingdom of the Planet of The Apes director Wes Ball, could go. Nintendo and Sony have plenty of paths to an adaptation considering the sheer number of games to choose from with their own story and take on the franchise. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, the two most recent mainline games on the Nintendo Switch, seem like strong starting places considering the universal praise and widespread popularity of both titles. However they go about it, the film is certain to center on the never-ending conflict involving the Hylian hero Link, Princess Zelda, and the evil Ganon who frequently plunges Hyrule into chaos in his efforts to rule the kingdom.
Stay tuned here at Collider for more on Nintendo and Sony’s live-action The Legend of Zelda movie as development gets underway. Read our guide here for more on some of the best video game adaptations out there while we wait for updates.