Rumors Of A Nintendo / Universal 'Zelda' Movie Hit The Web, Fans Fear The Cringy Worst
It's safe to say The Super Mario Bros. Movie was a huge success for Nintendo and Universal, as it shattered box office records even while critics were mostly lukewarm on it.
Logically, it would follow that the two companies continue their fruitful partnership, and sure enough, rumors of Universal closing in on the movie rights to the Legend of Zelda franchise hit the web yesterday evening.
The rumor comes from Hollywood insider Jeff Sneider, who said on the Hot Mic podcast that the Tinseltown scuttlebutt is that Universal is looking to get animation studio Illumination (who worked on the Mario movie) and Nintendo together again for Zelda.
"Zelda is looking like the next big Illumination-Nintendo franchise, which we were all sort of expecting," he said. "I’m told that is happening.”
While hardly an official declaration that a Zelda movie is in the works, the statement nevertheless kicked off a wave of brainstorming over what a Zelda movie could look like. The Mario movie was suitably wacky considering the jovial nature of Mario games, but Zelda is generally a much more somber franchise. The recent smash hit Tears of the Kingdom, for example, features actual character deaths and pathos that is well beyond what gamers would find in a typical Mario game.
Many social media users joked about how ill-fitting the typical whimsicality that defined recent video game adaptations like the Mario and Sonic films would be with the content of Zelda.
One hopes that, should Illumination be handling Zelda, they break from their traditional PG-children's comedy hijinks in order to adequately represent the more adult-oriented Zelda franchise, although it could be very funny to hear Chris Pratt describe his childhood stomping… bokoblins.
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Adam DeLand
The only thing that I had in my mind recently that would've been feasible is a miniseries based on the events 100 years prior to BotW. Basically a re-creation of the memory cutscenes, but also showing some things that were only mentioned in words in the game such as what was in the champions' diaries.
DooDooSlayer
I'm ready to bet my yet-to-be-conceived-by-my-yet-to-be-married-wife children that Link will be voiced by Tom Holland.
Bobbobbobbob
Fucking LOL at that tweet about serious tone. As if Zelda isn't filled with wacky characters.
BudgieArchiver
Zelda has a similar tone to One Piece, in that there are a lot of goofy characters, but there's also dark and serious moments.
Timey16
Same… like BotW's story is basically "every single one of my best friends was brutally murdered"
Rauru's and Sonia's story in TotK is pretty sad, too.
Let's not forget Midna's plot and that she BARELY survived after Zant forced massive amounts of light into her after finishing the 3rd dungeon.
Or how about like half the plot of Majora's Mask?
Or how about your uncle at the start of AlttP dying? He is alive in the credits, but that's by virtue of Link basically wishing him back to life with the Triforce. For all intents and purposes he's dead during the game.
Or how about the Shadow temple in OoT being a giant torture chamber where a more tyrannical era of the royal family brutally enforced their rule. (Oh also Link being an orphan after his dad was killed in a raid on Castle Town (likely by the Gerudo led by Ganondorf) and his mom fled to Kokori with him and died there)
And most important: the comedic tone is usually in side content. The plot is generally played pretty straight. Like the entire "Merry and Pippin" arc in LotR is a good comparison: a lot of lighter moments but when things get serious they are SERIOUS. No shitty Marvel one-liners.
Timey16
Dreamworks is luckily under the Universal umbrella. And they cut their teeth on a bit more serious tone with the recent Puss in Boots but also How to Train your Dragon. Illumination so far has JUST been "Comedy kids' films".
But yes, Mario just needed to respect the universe to be "good". I will not have the same leniency for Zelda, my most favorite game franchise.
I expect a huge amount of effort put in! Mario was merely a foundation, the way Zelda is received is the one that will make or break any further ambitions.
That said if any specific game would be turned into a movie, it would probably be Skyward Sword, since it's already an origin story and fairly linear overall.
And in terms of story structure, Zelda is an epic (literary genre) a single 90-120 minute movie would NOT be enough. A three hour movie at best would end "after the first three dungeons" part when Link normally gets the Master Sword. It would have to be a 2 parter or even a trilogy until he faces Ganon. After all getting the Master Sword tends to only be the 1st act of the games' 3 act structure. In OoT for example: act 1, child Link, act 2: Forest, Fire and Water Temples, act 3: Shadow and Spirit temples since NOW you need to go back and forth in time to progress. The themes of Shadow and Spirit temples are noticeably darker as well. Finally Ganondorf.
Although I'd probably prefer Live Action with a lot of practical effects over CGI here.
RagingGhost
Make it like Hardcore Henry. Done.
Kenetic Kups
I want it to be more of the cdi stuff honestly
Pokejoseph64
Revic
Full length movie version. Same animators. Same voice cast. Same writers. It would be the new Citizen Kane.
kraas
mah boi, this shitposting is what all true warriors strive foar
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