The Legend of Zeldais in between big releases right now, but it’s not resting on its laurels. 2023’sTears of the Kingdom’s hundred or more hours of adventures have yet to be exhausted by many fans, and the confirmation of a Nintendo Switch successor suggests that thoughts are being paid to the nextLegend of Zeldatitle as well. Rumors have already begun circulating about the SwitchZeldagames potentially getting improved releases on the new console to show off its power, and there’s no telling when a smallerZeldaside game could show up.
All of that holds a lot of promise, but theZeldafranchise does have one clearly defined milestone right now, even if it’s one it isn’t expected to reach for a couple of years.The Legend of Zeldawill be adapted to filmlike the wildly successfulSuper Mario Bros. Moviebefore it, this time taking a live-action approach instead of pure CGI. Directed by Wes Ball, written by Derek Connolly, and produced by both Avi Arad andLegend of Zeldacreator Shigeru Miyamoto, this project has a lot of potential and might be more than just a spin-off of the main franchise.
The Legend of Zelda Film Is Huge News
Currently, not much is known aboutThe Legend of Zelda’s untitled movie, and there’s a decent chance that many details haven’t been finalized internally yet. Still, Nintendo dropping this news out of the blue was a big deal, as it meant that the Japanese company had seen fit to invest in film adaptations of its beloved franchises again for the first time since the ’90s.
The Super Mario Bros. Movieis the clear causeof this, enjoying success far beyond what even its creators likely expected, and hastening the creation of more sequels and similar projects in the process.
The Zelda Film’s Creators Are Taking It Seriously
That means theZeldamovie is being approached as a huge deal right from the get-go, and knowing Nintendo, that means the game company is going to be heavily involved in every step of its production.Super Mario Bros.was already noted as being so successful because it was as authenticallyMarioas it could be, and early statements about theZeldamovie imply it’s going in the same direction. Comparisons to Ghibli and an emphasis on portraying a seriousZeldaadventure point towardstheZeldafilm striving for a unique identity, albeit one that could just as easily exist in its source material.
The Legend of Zelda Movie Could Feed Back Into The Games
It’s this aspect of theZeldamovie that’s most relevant to theZeldagames, and there couldn’t be a better time for Nintendo alumni Shigeru Miyamoto to hammer it out.Breath of the WildandTears of the Kingdommarked one of the rare direct sequels inThe Legend of Zelda, but its creators have since stated that they have done all they can with that rendition of Hyrule. ThenextLegend of Zeldatitle will be something new, and while that doesn’t mean it will be a movie tie-in or completely abandonTotK’s open-world formula, it does mean it could have elements of both.
How The Zelda Film Could Affect Zelda’s Games
TheLegend of Zeldamovie could end up signaling what tone theZeldafranchise holds going forward. At least, it could show what tone Nintendo wants it to have, and the film’s success could lead to its influence creeping back into the games. Unless Nintendo has agame adaptingThe Super Mario Bros. Moviein the works, there’s no hard evidence for this, but things like the film’s new art style and Mario’s voice do have parallels in the recentSuper Mario Bros. Wonder. Those similarities showing up in the nextZeldagame could prove thatThe Legend of Zelda’s film is a bigger deal than it looks.
