Highlights

  • Link's silence is a vital part of The Legend of Zelda saga, but it's one of many important traits.
  • The Hylian Hero's sacrifice and willingness to give up everything for the greater good define his character more than his lack of speech.
  • Despite not speaking, Link's actions speak volumes, making his character resonate with players and creating the emotional depth that needs to make it into the big-screen adaptation.

The Legend of Zelda may take its name from Nintendo’s famous princess, but every fan knows that the real hero is Link. Over 20 core The Legend of Zelda games and a treasure chest of spin-offs, the young Hylian warrior has helped save the kingdom of Hyrule and parallel realms again and again. It’s hard to think of a character who has a starring role in so many games that rank on greatest-of-all-time lists, including the most recent installment, Tears of the Kingdom. But the Hero of Legend’s biggest adventure may be the jump to a live-action movie.

Fans know the key elements that make up Zelda’s legend — vital components reappearing in various forms alongside new incarnations of Link. There’s his famous, usually green tunic and hat, along with the Master Sword and Hylian Shield or similarly mystical and powerful items. There are overwhelming odds that involve trips to puzzling and dangerous dungeons. However, one constant thing throughout the sprawling Legend of Zelda is that players never hear Link speak. As the hero finally makes it to the big screen, it’s understandable that the movie’s director, Wes Ball, is being asked whether or not Link will talk in the film.

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Silence Is As Golden As The Triforce

There’s no doubt that Link’s silence is a vital part of the game franchise’s popularity — a success that has seen it sell over 160 million games since it first appeared on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987. It’s a brilliant tradition that keeps him an agreeable constant in worlds that are often falling to pieces. It’s impossible to misread his tone, which allows him to stand as a hero defined by action. Link isn’t mute — characters in the game respond to the elf-like Hylian so they can evidently hear him — but it’s vital that players don’t. It ensures the attention stays on the characters he interacts with; by not talking, the hero lets the threat speak for itself.

The most important consequence is that Link’s silence lets players assume the hero role like few other characters. The Legend ofZelda usually introduces a different incarnation of the hero in each game — reincarnated throughout the immersive Hyrule Historia (the official timeline), and each possessed by the spirit of the original Hero. They also often encourage players to give each new incarnation of Link a name, adding to the immersive experience of inhabiting the character. It’s hard to see how this interactivity can be replicated or that any live-action Link will have a voice that lives up to the expectations of millions of gamers.

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There are plenty of films with protagonists who utter no or very few words, from Edward Scissorhands (1990) to Mr Bean (1997) to Halloween (last seen in 2021). But nobody expects the characters at the heart of those films to save a kingdom. That said, Link’s speech isn’t his most important trait or the big thing the upcoming movie needs to get right.

It's dangerous to go alone

Link’s quiet dedication doesn’t mean the character is just a sword-spinning shell of an old hero. Over 30 years, the Legend of Zelda has added vast amounts of character to the pixelated hero, tapping into a full range of emotions. Link’s character traits are defined mainly by his friendships. The overriding trait that needs to make it onto film is his willingness to sacrifice everything to achieve incredible things.

The games have repeatedly demonstrated that ultimate sacrifice is Link’s defining trait, as his courage has created his legend and further boosted the hero's spirit for future generations. Throughout the games, Link has risen to take on unimaginable evil. Although he often has excellent support, including characters like the fairy Navi in Ocarina of Time, who are with him during his momentous battles, it’s Link’s lonely figure that the evil sees. That sacrifice isn’t all about the significant risks of fighting supremely powerful evil beings like Ganon; it’s the consequences of succeeding that hit the Hylian hard.

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A great example and one of the most emotional parts of the whole series comes in that all-time classic, The Ocarina of Time. ​After the Link defeats Ganon, Princess Zelda tells the Hero of Time he must return to the time before he pulled the Master Sword from the Stone and woke seven years later as an adult. Back in time, the hero meets the princess once more, but the bond between the two has been lost to the timelines. The immediate sequel, Majora's Mask, apparently confirms that great sacrifice and it is even foreshadowed at the start of Link’s epic journey in Ocarina. As the soon-to-be hero first leaves his home in Kokiri forest, his friend Saria gives him a simple ocarina to remember her and the life he’s turning his back on.

On their many paths to conquering evil, Link’s incarnations have repeatedly experienced loss. That includes Midna in Twilight Princess, Fi in Skyward Sword, and Mipha in Breath of the Wild. In a particularly catastrophic turn of events during the aptly named Tears of the Kingdom, even Zelda sacrifices herself. No fan can forget that the time-looping classic Majora's Mask forced Link to repeatedly experience the world’s destruction.

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Majora’s Mask, the darkest of the Zelda games, sums it up early on. Transformed into a Deku Scrub by the mischievous Skull Kid (yes, Link sacrifices his body a lot), the Hero arrives in Termina and first meets the Happy Mask Salesman. The Salesman instantly recognizes Link’s character as he sends the Hero on his quest:

You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?

Whether Link speaks or not, or Wes Ball finds a way to translate the benefits of his silence to non-interactive storytelling, Link needs to be defined by his sacrifice, not his voice.