The Legend of please don't fuck this up: Long rumored, long dreamt at times feared, we are really doing this, The Legend of Zelda is getting a live action adaptation by director Wes Ball (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) and Sony.
This weekend rolled out its calendar app, announcing the movie's planned March 2027 release. T.S. Nowlin from the Maze Runner series that Ball directed is currently writing the script.
To many, many people, The Legend of Zelda, in all its iterations, is considered one of the best video game series ever made. Twenty-one mainline titles all highly regarded by fans, and some, such as Ocarina of Time (1998) and Breath of The Wild (2017) are considered groundbreaking innovations on the art of video games themself and are both considered some of the best games ever made.
Big boots to fill Wes, on the surface, the premise of the Zelda series is simple:
The Hero of the Age Link must master new tools and explore dungeons to save the princess Zelda and the kingdom of Hyrule.
Rinse repeat, re-incarnate with the beautiful thing being this established narrative leaving room for innovation in each game's gimmick, setting, and lore.
Gamers have always wanted to experience the world and mysteries of Hyrule so much that in many iterations, it is the same map getting explored and expanded, building upon the last game and bringing in new races of beings and cultures. The Legend of Zelda is an incredible world, and there is no doubt the potential in bringing that world could be a massive event (and yes, makes Sony a ton of money).
But I have some worries; here's the deal.
In my opinion, Nintendo kind of got lucky with Mario. They played it safe and made something that overloaded our nostalgia receptors, and they made a billion dollars.
Mario, in some ways, has the fluidity of a character like Mickey Mouse. There is not a ton you can get wrong with his lore.
Zelda is a different beast.
We won't even go into the fact that the main character is mute in current games, but more so than any other game, Zelda has a blueprint and framework that allows for innovation, but you have to stay in the lines.
We are seeing more and more video game adaptations; some play by the rules (Last of Us), some scribble and make a horrible mess (Borderlands).
So yes of course, we want a Legend of Zelda movie. It's been our collective dream since we were little kids running around the fields of Hyrule. It's dangerous to go alone, take your time, and respect the world.
