The upcoming live action The Legend of Zelda movie has been met with a bit of a mixed response. The idea of a Zelda movie is inherently interesting, but the choice to make it a live action film has left some fans disappointed. The movie is being directed by Wes Ball, who is best known for the less than stellar Maze Runner film series, written by Derek Connolly of Jurassic World fame, and produced by Avi Arad, who also produced the massively memed upon 2022 Morbius movie. None of these picks have inspired much confidence across the Internet.

Still, a Zelda movie obviously has a lot of potential, but it needs to be done right. The Super Mario Bros Movie approach of going with great references to the source material but extremely light story and character development will not work anywhere near as well here. Zelda is a deeper, more story focused series that inherently appeals to older audiences more than Mario does. A Zelda movie shouldn't aim to be a basic crowd pleaser, it should take some risks and try to be genuinely innovative.

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The Legend of Zelda Games Succeed By Being Unique

Likely due to both being iconic Nintendo series', The Legend of Zelda often gets lumped in with Super Mario as franchises where every game revolves around the hero trying to rescue the princess. This isn't a completely fair point to make about Mario, which has made strides to move away from Peach's capture being the main thing moving the plot forward in every single game, albeit with it still popping up consistently. With Zelda, however, the claim is truly baseless and likely comes primarily from people who haven't actually played the series.

Zelda isn't even in every Legend of Zelda game, and when she is, she tends to either work alongside Link or exists as one of the many people of Hyrule whom Link must save, not the sole recipient of his rescue. In Breath of the Wild, for instance, Zelda does call out to Link for assistance in defeating Calamity Ganon. However, it is all of Hyrule that is in danger, not just her. She is actually taking on a more active role by remaining sealed in Hyrule Castle to keep Ganon contained.

The point of all this is that The Legend of Zelda cannot be broken down to its bare essentials the way something like Mario can. The Zelda series thrives off of its diversity. Every game takes place in the same timeline, with each incarnation of Link possessing the same soul and the Triforce of Courage. But each Link exists in a radically different place in the timeline. This allows every Zelda game to feel unique. Any series can switch up gameplay from entry to entry, but the Zelda timeline allows for games to have drastically different tones, worlds, stories, and appearances while still being part of the same canon.

Even the Zelda games that do lead directly into one another differ drastically. In spite of how hard Breath of the Wild has been gunning for the title, Ocarina of Time might still be the most iconic Zelda game as far as the general public is concerned. It has the most standard Zelda story out of any game in the series, the one that has the highest likelihood of being the template the movie works off of. Link and Zelda discover Ganondorf's plot to conquer Hyrule, and Link travels the land and becomes strong enough to stop him, eventually claiming the Master Sword and working with Zelda to defeat the Demon King.

One would imagine that the sequel to a game like this would be something very similar, but one would be incorrect, as Majora's Mask goes for something completely different. Following the time reversal at the end of Ocarina of Time, Link remains a child for the entirety of this adventure, resetting time every three days as he desperately tries to stop the moon from crashing into Termina and causing the apocalypse. It's a very dark game by Nintendo standards, and completely lacks most notable characters from the series, with Zelda and Ganon in particular being absent. Zelda is not meant to be a rigid series. It's meant to push the envelope with each entry, always trying new things and reminding players how vast its world really is.

The Legend of Zelda Movie Can Tell Its Own Version Of The Story

It seems almost unavoidable that the Zelda movie will follow the general outline of Ocarina of Time. It best fits the idea of what general audiences will be expecting when they think about a Zelda movie. Director Wes Ball seems to want to introduce the universe as broadly as possible to the world of film, looking at Zelda as an untapped franchise more than something to make a unique work of art out of. An Ocarina of Time movie where a restless Link starts off in Kokiri Forest and embarks on an adventure with Zelda to save Hyrule from Ganondorf starts a potential series of movies off at its most basic, crowd pleasing point of entry. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Ball said:

But the Zelda series isn't beloved for being a simple, easy to digest story. Just the opposite, in fact. What makes it special is the way it constantly fluctuates and moves away from what's expected of it. In Link's Awakening, Link finds himself on an illusionary island that lacks a single other familiar Zelda character but is inexplicably home to a few Mario enemies. In Skyward Sword, rather than meeting later in life, Link and Zelda are childhood best friends living on a floating island high above the earth. In The Wind Waker, Link navigates the ocean more than the land with the help of the pirate Tetra, who is actually Princess Zelda. This Zelda goes on to become the great great grandmother of the Zelda of Spirit Tracks, whose Link is canonically the Hero of Trains. Zelda works best when it's weird and deviates, and the movie would probably be better for it if it did the same thing.

There are a million ways the Zelda movie could be different than any Zelda story that's come before it. Link has had a lot of different personalities, but he's never had dialogue in a Zelda game. Not one that was made by Nintendo, anyway. Having a Link that speaks could be a great chance to give him a personality never seen before in the character. Perhaps this Link could be uninterested in the idea of adventure and leaving his home, and would learn the value of seeing new places as the story goes on. Or conversely, movie Link could be a natural warrior who was eager to fight and gain power, who would have to learn humility and that being a hero is about more than brute strength.

Link could be an outsider, arriving from a far off land to help Zelda, something that has never been done before. Many video game adaptations love having their main characters start off unfamiliar with the world they find themselves in, so this could be an easy point of entry. The film could also take a bit of inspiration from the Skyward Sword dynamic, but this time have Link and Zelda start off as friends in a more familiar setting.

It sadly doesn't feel very likely that the Zelda movie will take a lot of risks or strike to establish an overly mature tone. Safe and familiar tends to make a lot more money at the box office, and it certainly seems like the goal of this project is to make money. If the aim with this movie is to have a near guaranteed hit and lay the groundwork for more Zelda movies in the future, then a simple Ocarina of Time narrative will do just fine. However, if the goal is to make something legitimately good, to really live up to the potential of what a Legend of Zelda movie could be, then it has to be a fresh take on the series.

The Legend of Zelda

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