Development of a Live-Action Film of the Legend of Zelda to Start
nintendo.co.jp
nintendo.co.jp
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/12/feature_how_david_...
My pet conspiracy theory, of which there is sadly ample contrary evidence, is that the Zelda universe was supposed to be more like the Bond universe, where it just kind of reboots and picks and chooses its continuity rather than the convoluted branching of time, which I think doesn't add anything to it.
I also really enjoy how the last two games (Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom) have focused a lot on emotion and interpersonal relationships. The complexity of Zelda's arch in BotW was a real happy surprise.
She started off feeling like a failure for not being able to awaken her powers and resenting Link for how easily he seemed to wield his. Then she got to know Link and how his skill was from relentless training and his silence was from fear of not living up to people's expectations. In the end, Link is the one who falls, Zelda awakens her powers and keeps Ganon at bay. And the whole game itself is Link trying to save the world doomed by his previous failure. Huh, reminiscent of OoT... maybe that's the common bit to base the film around?
It is gloomy though, and maybe too gloomy for what Nintendo wants to go for. Not having Ganon is probably a deal breaker for them as well.
Majora's mask or twilight princess comes to mind (while not even having the latter in my favorite games list)
Stranded on a mysterious island story, multiple characters and villages, obvious quest to wake the Windfish.
Also lays the foundations for other films if it does well - flashbacks teasing a previous game/movies and "it was all just a dream" ending teasing a sequel. Could make references to a larger setting and "evil" with Hyrule and Ganon.
It's just a step up from having a snarky Twitter account to "connect with a new generation of customers".
(How the movie portrayed Mattel's founder is proof of how the movie is just a brand update and far from the piece of art some say it is).
The basic plot is our hero is an extraordinarily strong but willful and wild. He goes to his first battle in search of personal glory only to find defeat and almost loses his life. He meets his love interest and various people who slowly teach what a true hero is. He re-emerges as the people’s champion. Before he leaves for his epic showdown with Sasaki Kojiro the entire village prays for his safe return.
I don't have high hopes for this.
And it's true. Hollywood needs a complete reset. I'm hopeful this bear-market of failures will be the catalyst.
Sadly, a live-action Legend of Zelda is exactly more-of-the-same (and will likely fail too therefore).
Melissa McCarthy as Hestu.
Jessica Biel as Purah.
Danny DeVito or Jack Black as Robbie.
Elijah Wood and Daniel Radcliffe as Kilton and their brother, respectively.
Tom Sandoval as Link
Walton Goggins as Ganondorf
Hannah Brown as Zelda
Finally working my way through "Justified" and have recently discovered the brilliance of Goggins. He's a terrific villain!!
Those are my expectations, but I have no excitement because it's probably impossible.
If I had to guess Nintendo is going with people they think can do a lot with a relatively modest budget.
Maze Runner pulled in $350 million on a $34 million budget, which is remarkable. The franchise made $950 million on a $150 million dollar budget which is wild.
Nintendo isn’t going for high art with these. They want someone who will make an entertaining enough movie while staying faithful to the material.
I want to say depends how outlandish/how well it's done but a lot of people liked Marvel Avengers so it can be done just hard.
Wewlad. That's got badass potential.
in the last minute, right after Ganon is defeated, the king turns to Link and asks "and what shall we call you, hero?"
pan to Link, dolly to close-up, he opens his mouth... cut to hard black
Name Entry Screen
Most action occurs off-screen, though with obviously felt-constructed monster dismemberments flying into the frame at times.
Link's backstory as a child puzzle-solving competition prodigy, pushed by overbearing perfectionist parents, comes up often.
Wes Anderson directs.
I don't think we're getting artistic and high concept fan appeal unless that note is a hard requirement from Nintendo directly.