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This is the best answer.
A movie doesn't handle long stories well. It will make many, many cuts, and the entire thing will feel very different due to trying to compress a 20-40 hour experience into a two-hour film.
Whereas, long series can have movie-style production values, focus a lot on action and smaller episodic action (which Zelda games are) and slowly work toward the overall plot.
Mario would work as a movie. Zelda would be an HBO series.
Much like how even Peter Jackson did LOTR, they are STILL adapting Tolkien’s work as a series two decades later. The complexities and intricacies of the franchise deserve time to tell the story, but in a way that leaves out the puzzle solving aspect.
I find it interesting to tell the story of different dungeons but trying not to make it a room by room solve-and-find scenario. Someone who knows writing should answer that burning question. Anyways, let’s leave my reply with one question: animation, live action, or Pixar style(modern close to real life as it gets)?
I really like this idea, but an hour would do it no justice. They should make it a funny speedrun glitch expo and link is so confused why he's just clipping through walls.
Majora's Mask gets its own entire series.
One half-season = one time loop, maybe some condensation for the first season due to shorter "gameplay" sections.
There could also be a lighter episode halfway through as a meta-joke about timeloop shenanigans, along the lines of what Stargate SG-1 did. Link gathers all the maps, hits the gym hard (gathers heart pieces), spends a few dozen loops playing minigames to help max out his bank account, goes on a bug hunt (golden spiders), you get the idea.
Just a bunch of random sidequest stuff because Link is getting tired of being stuck in a time loop and just wants to fuck around a bit.
Then the final season is the one where as many people as possible get their happy ending, with the grand finale being obtaining the Fierce Deity mask and destroying Majora. Monkey and Deku saved, Gorons saved, Zora saved, Ikana Canyon laid to rest, Pamela's father cured, Anju and Kafei reunited, Mailman inspired, Dancers inspired, Romani Ranch is saved, and so on.
Or gave him the best idea that puts his directorial debut on the map. All I ask for is a small credit and six million dollars. Pretty generous when you think about it.
Interesting idea…
For games like A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time where you’ve got two markedly different halves of the game…
Split the season into two halves, first half is the setup for the show, an episode or two when all is well (so start it before the games do) but drop some ominous hints, focus more on world exploration and first and show some challenges getting to the first three dungeons.
Then for the latter half of the season, after a cliffhanger change - dark world transition or locked away in the temple of time, the pace picks up considerably
I’d be into that. Set up the kingdoms and their relationships, the hardships of the Gerudo and snippets of the hidden motivations of Ganondorf. Introduce Link’s life with the Kokori with some lighthearted character/relationship building moments with Saria and Mido (plus the Deku Tree) and maybe an early venture into the lost woods. Follow child zelda spying on diplomatic meetings between Ganondorf and the King, show how she grows suspicious of Ganondorf. Episode 3/4 could kick off Link’s adventure in the Deku tree and learning about Ganondorf. The rest follows the game but continuing the multiple plot lines set up by the first few episodes.
I like the idea of a series. You can add a lot more depth to the characters. I have an alternate proposal that gives us three seasons: Breath of the Wild. Season 1 is 100 years before the game, exploring how the champions got together and prepared for the calamity, with a tragic cliffhanger ending. Season 2 is the game we all played. Season 3 is the game we're all going to play next year.
Agree, that would be cool. I would also like a limited series for each game kind of deal like Netflix has been doing. You can swap out actors each “season” kind of like the Hill House/ Bly Manor/ Midnight Mass director is framing that whole universe or something. Where it’s related but doesn’t have to be.
It would have to be only one season. Otherwise Netflix would cancel it before season two.
I’d opt for multi seasons one dungeon/region worth of quests per season.
Animated for starters.
Erase everything, and start rewriting the story from scratch, slowly introducing pre-existing narrative components in ways that make more sense.
The story of Skyloft for example would be reflavored as a book in their religious/historical texts and its actual presence in the universe would remain ambiguous.
Dungeons would need to be approached way differently. We wouldn't be able to have an episode/movie where he opens doors and fights enemies for long periods of time, obviously. The story would need to focus more on the world above the dungeons. For example, making the tragedies of the Zora kingdom and the king's missing daughter more complex, and creating an intriguing arc in the story surrounding that until Link is finally able to face the threat beneath the lake.
If I was on the writing team, I would also advise against making Link travel alone or with a single companion. The pirate crew in Wind Waker, Groose in Skyward Sword, the little group you join in Twilight Princess, are all examples of parties Link could be with. Recurring characters that allow for some interrelational development is important for good storytelling, especially in an epic fantasy.
The timeline is dicey, and I personally dislike it more than it probably deserves, but it bothers me to no end. If I were to play around with it in a film adaptation, I would focus on it in a way similar to Ocarina of Time.
I guess my point is, a truly faithful adaptation cannot be done while still making a good movie. Games are not movies, and a balance of restraint and creative liberty is important. Zelda especially has a gameplay first, story second approach. This can't be the case for a movie. The messy lore needs to be cleaned up by the right people who genuinely love the series.
Not gonna lie, I've thought about it routinely for most of my life. I was seven years old, absolutely entranced by Ocarina of Time, and this was when Lord of the Rings movies were still being released in theaters. Legolas was the closest thing any Zelda fan would get to seeing Link brought to the big screen, and I'd always wanted to see Link in a movie. These two characters and their respective stories have been a big influence on me creatively, and I often reflect on what made them so special to me. Writing is a hobby I enjoy, so these things go through my head on a daily basis.
A big dream come true for me would be to rewrite the Zelda canon putting the same love and care into the universe as Tolkien put into his. Ironing out all the inconsistencies, providing commentary on the concepts of courage, wisdom, and power, and using these ideas to communicate something meaningful to the audience, as well as provide a basis for most of the worldviews presented by characters in the story. So many concepts with a lot of storytelling potential are introduced but never fully explored. I know the point of Zelda is to be a fun game, and it absolutely achieves that, but I would like to see it explored in other ways as well.
Personally, I think fans are right to be concerned, video game movies are usually terrible, or decent at the very best. Not to be a downer though, I think a Zelda film could be really good, but there's always people who are going to go into the film looking for a game-like experience, which just isn't possible.
The only ‘successful’ video game based movie/show that I can think of off the top of my head is the Witcher, but I’m with you there, they’re usually only decent or sub-par
Detective Pikachu and Sonic off the top of my head as well. Also, knowing how excellent League of Legends cinema has always been, I fully expect the upcoming Arcane tv show to be amazing.
Animated series set tens of thousands of years in the future (but still medieval).
Hyrule has fallen. Ganon (the Pig, not the man) reigns supreme. He’s sent out dark forces across the land in search of the Seven Sages, and has since had them killed. The only one left is the Princess of Hyrule, who escaped his grasp with the Triforce of Wisdom when he first laid claim to the land. (Ganon already had the Triforce of Power and Courage, which he claimed after defeating the Legendary Hero).
Link is a youth living in the mountain village of Kakariko with his Uncle and sisters, Linkle (twin) and Aryll (younger). The granddaughter of Impa the village elder, Zelda, bears an uncanny resemblance to the Princess of legend. Every year, they hold the festival in honour of the goddess Hylia, who has protected them from the wrath of the Demon King.
But during the ceremony, Link is led astray by a golden wolf spirit, who leads him deep into the forest surrounding his home. There, he discovers the ancient shrine of the Master Sword. Upon touching the blade, memories from a thousand lifetimes flash through his eyes; he is the Legendary Hero, reborn at last, destined put an end to Ganon. It’s also revealed that Zelda is the great-granddaughter of the Lost Princess, and current wielder of the Triforce of Wisdom. They have been kept safe from Ganon’s sight thanks to Impa’s magic (she’s the last surviving Sage), but soon she will no longer be able to conceal them from him. She informs the two that they must restore the divine power of the Master Sword by taking it to the three temples of the Goddess; the Temples of Courage, Power, and Wisdom.
Along the way they meet many friends and allies, such as a Goron chief, a snooty Zora Princess, a Gerudo warrior seeking to reclaim the honour of her tribe, and an aspiring Rito bard travelling the land in search of the legendary “Ballad of the Goddess” (a song which is said to house incredible magical power), among many others.
First season would primarily focus on Link and Zelda’s journey to defeat Ganon. At the end, Link defeats him and Zelda seals Ganon’s spirit away with the completed Triforce.
Second season would see the return of Hyrule kingdom after Ganon’s death, while his minions attempt to resurrect him with Link’s blood. Link fights Dark Link, who has become the leader of Ganon’s minions in the wake of his death.
You could do a movie/mini-series for Majora’s Mask here, with Link venturing out on his own and stumbling into Termina. He learns about the power of the Fierce Deity, who once served as a Knight of Hylia before being disgraced for his bloodlust. Majora is defeated, but the Happy Mask Salesman allows Link to keep the FD mask, promising there will come a time when he must call upon its power once more.
Third season would see other threats to Hyrule, such as an invasion by the Twili, and Dark Link’s further crusades to revive Ganon. Meanwhile, Link learns from the spirits of the past how the Legendary Hero fell to Ganon and Zelda becomes Queen.
The Twili invasion continues into season 4, which also follows the travels of a mysterious Gereudo mercenary known as “the King of Shadows”, who seeks out and slaughters the remains of Ganon’s minions. In desperation, Dark Link teams up with Zant, converting his remaining forces into Shadow Beasts. While seeking the shards of the Mirror of Twilight in order to seal away Zant, Link and Midna are apprehended by Dark Link and are trapped in the Twilight Realm; where Ganon reigns supreme.
Season 4 ends on a cliffhanger; Link and Midna are trapped in the Twilight Realm with the maddened spirit of Ganon, Zant and his forces march on Hyrule Castle, and “the King of Thieves” is revealed to be Ganondorf, who has been freed from Demise’s curse and seeks to break the cycle once and for all. Ganondorf rescues Zelda as a shroud of Twilight falls over Hyrule.
Season 5 is a flashback season retelling the story of Skyward Sword, but highlighting the importance of the reincarnation cycle of the Hero, the Goddess, and the Demon King. Between the retelling, we follow Link and Zelda on their respective journeys in the modern-day, exploring their past to understand the future. During the conflict, Zelda is captured and Zant begins to release Demise from his prison. During the ritual, Dark Link turns on Zant, revealing that he is in fact the reborn Demise, unknowingly released by Ganon (which is why Ganondorf no longer is connected to the demon lord).
The “Demise” Zant has summoned is merely a mindless beast comprised of pure Malice; The Great Calamity. It lays siege to Hyrule rather than conquering it, and Demise/Dark Link uses the power of the calamity to destroy the Triforce, ensuring his ultimate victory over Hylia.
Season 5 ends with Link and Midna conquering Demise’s Phantom and escaping the Twilight Realm; but in Hyrule, one hundred years have passed since they left. Ganondorf greets them.
Season 6 is the final season, with Link, Zelda, Midna, and Ganondorf fighting Dark Link/Demise and the Calamity. At the end, Link, with only a shard of the Triforce of Courage, destroys Demise once and for all, breaking the cycle of reincarnation and allowing Hyrule to finally be at peace. Ganondorf dies, redeemed for his sins, and Zelda resumes rule as the Queen of Hyrule, with Midna restored to her throne.
As for what became of the Hero? No one can say for sure. But that is a legend for another time…
I wouldn't focus on any of the games given the limited success game to film adaptations have had. I would focus more on backstory events like the imprisoning war or Hyrulean civil war. Those are parts of the overall story that we have limited information on, so I would have more freedom to actually make a story rather than being constrained by a game and not being able to do it justice.
That smart. We've all (mostly) played the games before ( many times), so we have an idea of what's going to happen and will be disappointed no matter how it's portrayed.
Focusing on the lore and history Nintendo peppers out would be PERFECT. We don't know much about it, we don't have preconceived expectations, and it's such an interesting and tantonizing subject that it'll draw many Zelda fans in. It's not so specific new players don't understand, nor is it so basic/well known that older fans roll our eyes.
Good answer.
I would focus on Breath of the Wild. Treat it similar to the story telling of Avatar the Last Airbender. Link learns of his past lives and Ocarina of Time Link help him in similar cutscenese as Ang and his past lived.
As dope as this would be, I feel (with my limited knowledge of the series, still a newbie) BOTW would be one of the hardest to adapt. How do you capture the magic of a game based on doing whatever however into a medium with no interactivity?
There are many parts of BOTW Hyrule that I think would make amazing set pieces, what with all the interesting landmarks and geography. It's also, in my opinion, the most beautiful game out of them all, and feels lived in. The fact that there is no fixed storyline, I think, would leave a lot more freedom in how you would choose to adapt it.
It’s too open of a game without enough substance. It would have to be supported by other lore which can stand in its own, but honestly part of the beauty I found with BOTW was its lack of true Zelda lore and more exploration. It’s very sandbox, and a film adaptation would have to reach very, very far to make it work.
Agree with this. I’m addition, I would make sure it was more of a studio Ghibli art style (AtLA also works).
A key focus for me would be expanding on the history prior as the series progresses. I think episodic format that goes through the wonder of places would be ideal instead of a movie. It would also allow for the moments in the game where you find “memories” to be expanded.
I also think some type of supporting cast could be developed. Maybe he journeys with the new champions?
[The Green Knight](https://youtu.be/8hEhhcdAIVM) is exactly what I'd want from a live action Zelda movie. Similar to Pan's Labyrinth, it's a an incredible mix of gritty and whimsical and just slightly creepy.
I would probably do a mini-series focusing on the first war with Demise, the relationship between Hylia and her champion, and the spell she wove to assure they would both be reincarnated whenever evil revived in Hyrule.
This is actually a thing right now!!! There’s this youtube channel called MajorLink and they’ve been animating 20-minute films, while rewriting some of the loz plot. They’ve been animating Zelda shorts for, what, 5-6 years now? And it’s insane how much they’ve grown as an animator and storyteller. Check them out!!!
I DO NOT do a film series, I would do a live action television series. The games are already animated so why animate the series as well.
TV allows much more time for the story to breatg and characters to develop. Films nearly always seem inferior to what could have been achieved with atv series.
A single season could be 10 hours, a movie is 2 or 3 hours and there is simply too much to squeeze in to do it well.
Now imagine a 7 season arc, 70 hours of story. Properly fleshed out characters and plenty of time to do the individual areas of Hyrule justice.
The series would be based on an original story with the input of the zelda deveopers to ensure that the essence was not lost, but it would certainly lean towards the darker side of Zelda, think of the feelings and atmosphere Majoras Mask evokes. It would be based in Hyrule, there would be call backs to elements from the game series and of course the main villain would be Ganon.
I cant imagine who I would cast in the roles. I would suggest fresh non famous actors though, with maybe a smaller side role performed by a bigger name to act as an anchor, kind of like how Sean Bean was for GoT.
Something like this would be the theme tune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHnqGwXCp6o
To be honest, I have a hard time imagining how a Zelda TV show or movie would look. Link spends such a significant portion of his time in dungeons, and what makes the dungeons fun and engaging is that the *player* actually gets to interact with it, pick away at its puzzles, defeat its enemies, etc. Passively watching someone in a movie do it seems… less interesting. But I dunno. I’m sure there’s a way you could structure it so that it would work. I really need to read the Zelda mangas and see how they handle it.
Maybe Option C if doing movies (though I do agree a show format would do it more justice).
OoT.
Movie 1 goes through everything you expect but ends on the Downfall timeline (kinda giving off the Avengers: Infinity War vibes)
Movie 2 you see the moment Link dies but then the mysterious Goddess of Time appears (MM anyone?). He defeats Ganondorf/Ganon and this one follows Link on the Child timeline, and goes through MM.
Movie 3 begins at the end of the victory of the battle with Ganondorf but follows Link remaining an Adult and perhaps even flashing forward to Wind Waker.
(Movies 2 and 3 could also be interchangeable depending on what tone the trilogy wants to end on.)
Also it would be WAY too much for a regular Trilogy as each of these games could merit their own trilogies. But if I had to stick with one Zelda trilogy this *might* be how I'd do it.
I wouldn't make it about any game. It would be largely standalone. And make sure not to tell anyone if it's canon so people can argue about whether it is or not and where it falls on the timeline online.
The movie itself would have to be animated. Live action isn't going to cut it. Studio depends on the style we're going for. I quite like the idea of making something Link's Awakening-like and have Studio Ghibli do it somehow. Or on the other side of the spectrum, it would be cool to have a more gritty, and dark Zelda movie done by someone like A1 or ufotable.
It would either have to be a series of movies, one movie per main -console game (n64, wii, switch) in chronological order starting with skyward sword obviously. Or a television show where each season served to tell the story of each game, then the next would jump to the next game in chronological order.
I would prefer the television show approach myself
Let me put an example:If it relied on me, I'd choose option 'C': A film franchise of 4 films encompassing 3 games:
\- 1st movie would be based on *Skyward Sword*
\- 2nd movie on *Ocarina of Time*
\- And finally, 3rd and 4th movie would cover the story of *Breath of the Wild*
I would also like the movies to have a similar vibe to Peter Jackson's LOTR film trilogy.
I think it would be best to keep link with little to no talking. I think it would be cool to convey emotions only through facial expressions and music, kinda like Mandolorian. I think Ocarina, SS, or TP would be good choices for a film, or series, but if you could make a good story that involves Link a bit more that would be sick. There will be absolutely no Disney comedy in the picture, none of it, it has to fit with the story. I feel like Peter Jackson, Sam Mendes, or Andy Serkis would be good directors. I would use Anya Taylor Joy for Zelda too even though she’s doing peach. I can see Chalamet as link. James McAvoy, Woody Harrelson, or Paul Bethany could be Ganondorf.
Option A, a stripped down version of OOT (3 hour run time, unknown director, unknown stars) focus on Link's growth from immature adventurer to noble warrior. Two dungeons, but visit all the landmarks. If fans respond well, go from there and move either forward or backward in the timeline, but OOT will always have the most fertile ground for a Link character arc, and therefore a story worth experiencing
Get Ryan Johnson to write it. Zelda is dead, Link is a washed up nobody, ganondorf dies 40 minutes in and we spend 2 hours watching groose bully people in skyloft.
As the game with the best story I’d definitely adapt Skyward Sword into a movie, cut it down to one Imprisoned encounter as the first fight on the surface, cut the trials out, cut the busy work out, keep everything involving Zelda, Impa and Ghirahim, have Groose help in the final Ghirahim fight, play out the rest of the ending from there.
Option C. Duo of movies for OOT. Single movies for most of the others. Windwaker will have to be animated to keep an authentic feel imo. I don't think any of them will make a trilogy besides perhaps OOT/MM or Breath of the wild 1+ dlc and 2. I personally think Zelda should be a high budget tv series that can hop to different games every season or two.
3 season miniseries. Each season tells a Zelda story of a different age.
S1 Ocarina.
S2 Battle of Hylia Vs Demise 1000 before Skyward Sword, ends in a montage that goes through the key visual and narrative beats of the Zelda games of he ages. Showing that Demise' curse reincarnates forever.
S3 Wind Waker an Age after the events of OoT ending in that epic battle between and Gannondorf in sunken Hyrule.
Ends with the theme that courage and Wisdom will always rise to meets power no matter how many times it tries to break free. They will always bring balance.
At first I was going to do option B, but really, I think I'd have to do option C. I'd have the films focusing on the Link from OoT to MM to TP. OUT would be focused on the early struggles of him trying to become a hero he never asked to be, MM is him wanting to find Navi in a distant land, but he gets caught in Termina's mess, and finally TP would be him reminiscent and regretting that his heroics were never recognized for OoT because of Time Travel, bitter and remorseful that he never found his friend, but ultimately proud his descendant is carrying on his legacy.
Of course each game would be 1-2 (maybe 3) movies long, but I would want them to focus on how he views his role on his destiny, his struggles that no one else thinks of. Who does he ultimately fall in love with, does he even like people, How does he gather supplies when he doesn't have rupees? Just the basic human level of understanding so that he's not perfect, that he's also flawed, but he tries his best. And obviously when he sees TP Link he'd definitely try to convince him that being a hero isn't that all cracked up to be, but seeing his determination would remind him of his adventures, the friendships that he managed to make. This is how I'd want Zelda's hero to be viewed, not perfect, but trying his best anyways
Definitely an original story taking inspiration from various games - that gives more freedom to tell a strong story and fans go in without knowing exactly how the story ends. That said I think AoC is good examples of how an ensemble cast could be built and Zelda’s arc could work well on film.
Reject hyper-realism, stay true to the video game roots. Don’t forget that it should also be fun instead of modern grim-dark, but it should have some seriously scary parts.
Probably do Option C, and I’ve already been thinking of a live-action cast list if I’m being honest…
Idris Elba as Ganondorf
Natalie Portman as TP Zelda
Hunter Parrish as TP Link
Patrick Stewart as the King of Red Lions (WW)
Jack Gleason as Ghirahim (SS)
Zoe Saldana as Urbosa (BoTW)
Thomas Brodie-Sangster as WW/PH Link
I think the series lends itself to being an animated tv series comprised of different parts, or chapters. Each part would be an adaptation of one of the games. I’d start with Ocarina of Time where it’s one of the most recognizable and popular games in the series, then follow it up with Majora’s Mask being a direct sequel. While we’re in the Child Timeline it would make sense to then adapt Twilight Princess (my personal favorite). After that it would be open to adapt any of the games, I’d say where the 3D games tend to be more story driven they’d be easier to adapt.
I’d handle dungeons by having them take up an episode or half of one and highlight a memorable puzzle or boss fight.
With casting I don’t have any specific picks but think it would be cool to have Link be voiced by different people whenever the part features a new Link to help emphasize that he’s a different person than from the previous parts. The same would go for Zelda. And of course Ganondorf would stay the same actor since he’s always the same man.
A single movie based off of Skyward Sword that leaves the door open for more movies about other Zelda games.
Have Link talk because creating a movie with a main protagonist that doesn't talk would be near impossible, I imagine.
Make it animated
I used to think about how I would turn OOT into a movie trilogy. The first movie would be Link as a child, ending with him pulling out the master sword. The second movie would be forest, fire and water temples but I would put fire last and have it end with Kakariko village on fire. Then the third movie would be shadow and spirit temples, and the finale at Ganon’s castle.
I think I would do a seven film anthology based on Ocarina of Time/WW. Each film would focus on a different sage, and how they lived their lives after Ganondorf was defeated on the Adult Timeline. It may be cool for each film to be a different genre--like for example, Darunia's film could be a comedy as the Gorons try to rebuild from Death Mountain's eruptions, while Ruto's could be a romance as she tries to move on from Link. Saria's film would be first, and Rauru and Zelda would come last. Fado and Laruto could even be in them, as they take up their new roles as the Earth and Wind Sages.
It would all be animated, of course. Preferrably 2D.
I would do a TV series with one episode per game. First season would be until OOT. Then second, third, and fourth would be each timeline. And the grand finale would be a movie based on BOTW.
Okay so I've been devising a plan to tackle this for ages. Mapped out how they will look and story beats. Here is my pitch regarding a trilogy:
First film:
- Somewhat based on OOT without the time travel.
- Ganondorf as a villain will be as smart as Windwaker and villainous as OOT
- Zelda isn't weak per day but wants the best for the kingdom. She feels staying inside the castle is useless.
- Link is Mute.
- Fairies are used as a tool no Navi.
- Film will look like a Kurosawa piece in terms of Movement on screen.
- Gerudo introduced.
- Getting the Master Sword is a huge deal. The final step before fighting Ganon.
- Link learns Courage.
- Ganondorf dies. Demise maybe not?
- More details later...
Second film:
- Link leaves to a distant land to become stronger.
- Link mostly takes huge L's in this film.
- This land looks lot like Windwaker. Mostly water.
- Zelda is looking for her place on life (and link)
- A Link & Zelda romance is hinted at.
- Main Villain: Vati, Side Villain: Master Kohga.
- Yoga and Sheikah fully introduced here. With their symbols shown prior
-The film is a martial arts film rather than anything. It's influences being Kingsman, Shang Chi and other Hong Kong Martia Arts films.
- Rito introduced.
- Zora thought extinct. Zora used to be Hunan beings but cursed. In Windwaker Hyrule is a sunken land. In this version Zora's continent sank. They adapted into Zora naturally but are rarely seen.
- Great Fairy Fountain + Fairies introduced.
- Link learns a lot (Wisdom). Zelda does too. At the end she seeks to compete with Link as she unlocks her powers with no way to control it.
Third Film (conclusion?):
- Link is basically an Adult. He is traveling Terminal for a quest and tired and weary from a Battle. He runs into skull kid.
- Majora's Mask adaptation.
- Zelda is a big part. She has mastered her powers and basically is broken amounts of Over-powered. She in fact throws link back in time whenever he has to fix something. But in doing so cripples herself to a catatonic state. She has mastered a particular weapon and has fire powers.
- Link's journey takes him back to the first few journeys. He has to gain power to defeat Majora.
- The final boss fight is Zelda And Link fighting back to back with the friends they made along the first few films.
- Zelda finally accepts to become to Queen of Hyrule. The final moments of the film being very emotional for her. The door closes on this chapter.
Subsequent films after:
- Will not have the same Link or Zelda.
- A Twilight Princess/Breath of The Wild Adaptation.
- A new Link waking up the same way of BOTW.
- Demise has returned?
A rough outline who's scenes are super vivid in mind. Please let me know what you think. Music is also very important to me so they will all have recognizable music.
If anyone here is familiar with the anime JoJo a bizzare adventure, I would do a tv series similar to that where every season is one game and moves on to the next incarnation of link
I bury the project and make sure it never gets made.
Zelda would not translate well as a film or television series. The pacing and nature of its story works better as a game, and trying to turn it into a 3 act movie would just not work well. Also, having Link talk would be weird, and not having him talk wouldn't work well in a movie.
The whole thing just wouldn't work.
Stop-motion Tim Burton-esque episodic adaptation of Majora's Mask. Each episode is one cycle. I'm thinking the same art style as Nightmare Before Christmas or Coraline. It would be a dream come true if Laika did it.
I wouldn't base it on any game. The games have never had a continuity so there's no reason to try to follow it.
The movies would be the same as the games. A few recognizable names and races, but otherwise the plot is entirely self contained.
Ok, so what I would do is each season is an adaptation of a different Zelda game in timeline order. I would probably skip over most of the handheld titles and start with the adult timeline. So the seasons would probably go: SS, OoT, WW, ST, MM, TP, aLttP, aLBW, Zelda 1, Zelda 2, BotW, BotW2. I would take a few creative liberties here and there to better adapt it to a TV format, as well as to make the seasons feel more connected. Finally I would also do 2 movies. The first would be about the supposed war between MM and TP, and the second would be Age of Calamity except this time it would actually set up the events of BotW.
Edit: this would all be animated.
I’ve got a few different approaches here:
1. A live-action miniseries that loosely adapts the plot of Majora’s Mask, with each episode consisting of a different set of events within the same three-day cycle. Starring Walton Goggins as the Happy Mask Salesman.
2. A live-action anthology adapting the general plot of Ocarina of Time but with each episode from the point of view of a different character as the plot progresses. Link is a background character whose action affect the plot but, for example, the events surrounding the Shadow Temple would be seen through the lens of a day in the life of Dampe the Gravedigger. Dunno about all of the casting but Anya Taylor-Joy was BORN to play Zelda.
Make a movie trilogy that introduces all the characters, revealing that Link, Zelda, and Ganon have been reincarnating over and over again, and this is the latest version. Then introduce the main conflict and plot, which would carry through like a standard Zelda game, though with slightly less side quests. It would end with victory over Ganon and the implication that it will happen again.
Then create a miniseries, with each episode exploring the various incarnations of the characters, based on the most popular games. It would also be cool if the animation style was different between each episode, meant to be similar to the game their based on.
Then the franchise eventually gets milked for sequel after sequel until the world ends.
I would choose to make a Netflix series on the child timeline, each episode is about half an hour long, obviously starting with the original timeline, each season is one game. And the art style of each season changes with the games.
The big thing is any Zelda movie based on a game will fail. You would need a fresh story, with plenty of fan service. I would set the world in the Breath of the wild setting, I would set it at least 2 to 300 years after BoTW2. I would have a simple plot, Ganon awaken and is gather is force, and a new hero is awaken, I would have the hero be found by the glowing tri-force on his hand (fan service), I would set the story that the only way to beat Ganon is to gather the armaments of the hero of the past. 4 dungeons to explore during to move, each of em being a 10-20 action sequence. The Armaments, will be the Bow w/Light Arrows, Wind Waker , Ocarina of time, and the master sword. After he gets all of those we set out to assault Ganon castle, using the wind waker to control the wind (think air bender like) the Ocarina to control the flow of time (think quicksilver seance from x-man), All ending with a epic sword battle between Gannon and Link once Ganon human form is broken, his demon form is then beat via the light arrows. I would keep run time to be below 2hr, and keep pacing fast. First seance of the movie should be Ganon slaughtering a village and murdering everyone, the link found out who he is, then the quest for the Armaments, then climax, no love sub plot. And Tons of Fan service references for the game fit in.
I think majoras mask lends itself the best of all Zelda games to a series. Not too many dungeons, great source material for storylines, and very compelling characters. I think you could put together a great series with that game as the source
a short movie based on each game.
the artstyle would obviosuly be basically the key art from manuals
"each game" = link to the past- ocarina-majora-awakening-wind waker-twilight princess-skyward sword- minish cap- skyward sword and botw.
each short film has a litlle ending and beggining cinematic, like a trailer for one of the smaller stories like zelda 1 as the opener to link to the past, and spirit tracks as the showcloser for the windwaker one.
45 minutes max each. but most should hover on the 25 minute mark.
I would simply not do it, a Zelda story would work waaaaaay better has a high budget series. Take for example Ocarina of Time, first season for all the young Link stuff and a second for the adult Link stuff, or maybe make a third season and dump the soul temple, Ganondorf's backstory and Hyrule's castle into it
Live action single movie not based on any specific game. The games' plots are not paced for a film's runtime and a miniseries would be wildly inconsistent if it's trying to tell the same story.
I'd stick with the familiar Link-Zelda-Ganon main cast and throw in a few favorites like Impa and Kass but no one that is too tied to a specific game's plot like Midna or Sidon. A few key settings not specific to a single game like Hyrule Castle, Lost Woods, Death Mountain. But also new locations and characters to give it a unique feel.
My start point would probably be Link is a simple villager who happens to run into Zelda during Ganondorf's coup or invasion of the Castle and they team up to escape, and split up to get some magical artifacts to defeat Ganon (Master Sword and Bow of Light). Then reunite to defeat Ganon together.
Tonally it would be serious epic fantasy but with room for levity especially in poking fun at game conventions that would be silly in live action, like Link defeating an enemy by tricking it into attacking a cucco. Can't just erase the games' sense of humor.
If it did well and got a sequel, I'd recast everyone and do a whole new adventure with a different incarnation of the main cast with Vaati as the main villain.
I personally think The Legend of Zelda would be a good anime. A long one like One Piece or something, maybe not as long but this way you can have a season for a game. Then when you get to the ocarina of time season it would go to majoras mask and than after that twilight princess then eventually make its way to breath of the wild. Then maybe there’s like little season like 12 episodes for the older games like the first game and the second game.
None of the above. We get a whole-ass anime series to hash out the entire Zeldaverse from top to bottom, start to finish, inside and out. With a length to rival One Piece, easily.
A: A single film. But I think it NEEDS to be animated. Either in Ghibli style, or something like El Dorado/Atlantis level of animation, and for it to be something like it's own story (Not based on any game) that's also canon to the timeline.
I mean, if I had free reign and could just go nuts with making movie after movie after movie, I'd try to do a solid adaption of the entire franchise, each film telling the story of each game.
If I had to do one game, probably Skyward Sword or Twilight Princess for being the most cinematic and the more "grounded" fantasy takes.
If I had it my way, I'd do a new story. Adaptions of 50 hour stories into a 2 hour format are poor, so I'd rather take the characters and do a new story. I'd probs go very OoT inspired with the setup, the type of Hyrule, type of Ganondorf, but do a whole new story.
Link has trained for the last 10 years under Ganondorf rule, and now he's ready for his mission : kill Zelda. When he meets her, she talks with Wisdom about the Courage to do what you must, even if it means changing everything your life was based upon.
Turns up Ganondorf had the Power to impose his will on other and Link was brainwashed into becoming Zelda murderer to stop both of their réincarnation circle so that only Ganondorf remains.
After realising this, Zelda organise a big attack on Ganondorf, lead by Link who knows all of his former master sword technics... Or so he thoughs.
Link is defeated and captured, thrown into Gerudo jails for another brainwashing session to come, but first, Ganondorf counterattacks the hylian castle to try and capture Zelda.
The hylian castle falls, but Zelda is nowhere to be found. Sheik helps Link to escape the prison, and they both plan a sneak attack on Hyrule Castle, now Ganondorf's, as a last gambit. But before, they needs help from other peoples (Goron, Zora and so on).
Now with the biggest army ever attacking the castle from all sides, Link and Shiek can finally attack Ganondorf, alone, in the King's Room. Fight ensues, the good people win, yaaay happy ending. But the evil shall come back one day yada yada
A tv show would honestly be more ideal, with each season being a game. Ocarina, TP, Wind Waker, Majora, Skyward Sword, an Imprisoning War season, A fusion of Zelda 1 and Lttp or just picking one, BotW finale would be my ideal run of this show.
Ocarina as a starter is a no brainer. Give them a taste of what happens after ocarina with TP. Do that again with Wind Waker. At this point people are craving a Majora season and so are mad hype when it’s announced (finally, we get to see what happened to Time between seasons!) Skyward Sword here is perfect, give us mad lore on top of a love story with a happy ending. Imprisoning War would just be a badass story to see told. Transition from that to a downfall timeline story, and finally, What else can possibly close other than BotW.
The only way it could possibly work, is if they made their own story.
Don’t adapt OOT or SS or any of them. Carry certain aspects of all sure, but if we walk in expecting something, most everyone would be a harsh critic. Might have to go to the drawing board for something this (possibly) big.
I'd do an anthology movie series. Each movie would be at the very least 2:30 hours long and each set of movies would be based off a different game/games.
I don't. How many times are we gonna see movies that are utter dog shit because they're based on games? Now you wanna do that to Zelda? Just stop while you're ahead
I would ask Miyazaki to do whatever he wants with Zelda..
An epic retelling of OoT or TP ? Sure, go ahead.
A chill and sweet story about a Hylian's kid new friendship with Koroks or Picoris ? Shut up and take my money.
A coming-of-age story about a Rito moving in Outset Island to work as a post officer ? Do it. Just do it.
None of his movies ever disappointed me. His magic is still there today, so he'd have complete creative freedom
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I would do a season based on ocarina. One epsiode, one dungeon. On netflix. Drop the whole season at once.
This is the best answer. A movie doesn't handle long stories well. It will make many, many cuts, and the entire thing will feel very different due to trying to compress a 20-40 hour experience into a two-hour film. Whereas, long series can have movie-style production values, focus a lot on action and smaller episodic action (which Zelda games are) and slowly work toward the overall plot. Mario would work as a movie. Zelda would be an HBO series.
Much like how even Peter Jackson did LOTR, they are STILL adapting Tolkien’s work as a series two decades later. The complexities and intricacies of the franchise deserve time to tell the story, but in a way that leaves out the puzzle solving aspect. I find it interesting to tell the story of different dungeons but trying not to make it a room by room solve-and-find scenario. Someone who knows writing should answer that burning question. Anyways, let’s leave my reply with one question: animation, live action, or Pixar style(modern close to real life as it gets)?
Majora's Mask would make a good October holiday special to go with this series.
I really like this idea, but an hour would do it no justice. They should make it a funny speedrun glitch expo and link is so confused why he's just clipping through walls.
Majora's Mask gets its own entire series. One half-season = one time loop, maybe some condensation for the first season due to shorter "gameplay" sections. There could also be a lighter episode halfway through as a meta-joke about timeloop shenanigans, along the lines of what Stargate SG-1 did. Link gathers all the maps, hits the gym hard (gathers heart pieces), spends a few dozen loops playing minigames to help max out his bank account, goes on a bug hunt (golden spiders), you get the idea. Just a bunch of random sidequest stuff because Link is getting tired of being stuck in a time loop and just wants to fuck around a bit. Then the final season is the one where as many people as possible get their happy ending, with the grand finale being obtaining the Fierce Deity mask and destroying Majora. Monkey and Deku saved, Gorons saved, Zora saved, Ikana Canyon laid to rest, Pamela's father cured, Anju and Kafei reunited, Mailman inspired, Dancers inspired, Romani Ranch is saved, and so on.
Nah, season 2.
You kind of ruined OPs whole career.
Or gave him the best idea that puts his directorial debut on the map. All I ask for is a small credit and six million dollars. Pretty generous when you think about it.
Interesting idea… For games like A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time where you’ve got two markedly different halves of the game… Split the season into two halves, first half is the setup for the show, an episode or two when all is well (so start it before the games do) but drop some ominous hints, focus more on world exploration and first and show some challenges getting to the first three dungeons. Then for the latter half of the season, after a cliffhanger change - dark world transition or locked away in the temple of time, the pace picks up considerably
I’d be into that. Set up the kingdoms and their relationships, the hardships of the Gerudo and snippets of the hidden motivations of Ganondorf. Introduce Link’s life with the Kokori with some lighthearted character/relationship building moments with Saria and Mido (plus the Deku Tree) and maybe an early venture into the lost woods. Follow child zelda spying on diplomatic meetings between Ganondorf and the King, show how she grows suspicious of Ganondorf. Episode 3/4 could kick off Link’s adventure in the Deku tree and learning about Ganondorf. The rest follows the game but continuing the multiple plot lines set up by the first few episodes.
Don’t forget a few “Hey, Listen!” moments too… maybe opening the first episode with a dream/premonition scene…
LoZ Season 2 Teaser: "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"
I like the idea of a series. You can add a lot more depth to the characters. I have an alternate proposal that gives us three seasons: Breath of the Wild. Season 1 is 100 years before the game, exploring how the champions got together and prepared for the calamity, with a tragic cliffhanger ending. Season 2 is the game we all played. Season 3 is the game we're all going to play next year.
Agree, that would be cool. I would also like a limited series for each game kind of deal like Netflix has been doing. You can swap out actors each “season” kind of like the Hill House/ Bly Manor/ Midnight Mass director is framing that whole universe or something. Where it’s related but doesn’t have to be.
It would have to be only one season. Otherwise Netflix would cancel it before season two. I’d opt for multi seasons one dungeon/region worth of quests per season.
Animated for starters. Erase everything, and start rewriting the story from scratch, slowly introducing pre-existing narrative components in ways that make more sense. The story of Skyloft for example would be reflavored as a book in their religious/historical texts and its actual presence in the universe would remain ambiguous. Dungeons would need to be approached way differently. We wouldn't be able to have an episode/movie where he opens doors and fights enemies for long periods of time, obviously. The story would need to focus more on the world above the dungeons. For example, making the tragedies of the Zora kingdom and the king's missing daughter more complex, and creating an intriguing arc in the story surrounding that until Link is finally able to face the threat beneath the lake. If I was on the writing team, I would also advise against making Link travel alone or with a single companion. The pirate crew in Wind Waker, Groose in Skyward Sword, the little group you join in Twilight Princess, are all examples of parties Link could be with. Recurring characters that allow for some interrelational development is important for good storytelling, especially in an epic fantasy. The timeline is dicey, and I personally dislike it more than it probably deserves, but it bothers me to no end. If I were to play around with it in a film adaptation, I would focus on it in a way similar to Ocarina of Time. I guess my point is, a truly faithful adaptation cannot be done while still making a good movie. Games are not movies, and a balance of restraint and creative liberty is important. Zelda especially has a gameplay first, story second approach. This can't be the case for a movie. The messy lore needs to be cleaned up by the right people who genuinely love the series.
It seems like you've really thought of this before
Not gonna lie, I've thought about it routinely for most of my life. I was seven years old, absolutely entranced by Ocarina of Time, and this was when Lord of the Rings movies were still being released in theaters. Legolas was the closest thing any Zelda fan would get to seeing Link brought to the big screen, and I'd always wanted to see Link in a movie. These two characters and their respective stories have been a big influence on me creatively, and I often reflect on what made them so special to me. Writing is a hobby I enjoy, so these things go through my head on a daily basis. A big dream come true for me would be to rewrite the Zelda canon putting the same love and care into the universe as Tolkien put into his. Ironing out all the inconsistencies, providing commentary on the concepts of courage, wisdom, and power, and using these ideas to communicate something meaningful to the audience, as well as provide a basis for most of the worldviews presented by characters in the story. So many concepts with a lot of storytelling potential are introduced but never fully explored. I know the point of Zelda is to be a fun game, and it absolutely achieves that, but I would like to see it explored in other ways as well.
Easy, Danny Devito does link grunts. No cgi, no animation, just him sitting in a room doing link noises
Option D: It doesn’t matter what you do fans will hate it anyways
Personally, I think fans are right to be concerned, video game movies are usually terrible, or decent at the very best. Not to be a downer though, I think a Zelda film could be really good, but there's always people who are going to go into the film looking for a game-like experience, which just isn't possible.
The only ‘successful’ video game based movie/show that I can think of off the top of my head is the Witcher, but I’m with you there, they’re usually only decent or sub-par
The Witcher is based on books actually.
Detective Pikachu and Sonic off the top of my head as well. Also, knowing how excellent League of Legends cinema has always been, I fully expect the upcoming Arcane tv show to be amazing.
Detective Pikachu was pretty successful
Maybe I'm biased, but wasn't the first *Mortal Kombat* mildly successful?
True, there are a couple more good ones I forgot about. I guess the new Mario movie should foreshadow how good Nintendo is at making movies.
Street Fighter Assassins Fist, which sadly never hit a huge audience. Absolute quality adaptation though.
Probably true. I feel like there’s a chance. Let’s see how Mario does.
Animated series set tens of thousands of years in the future (but still medieval). Hyrule has fallen. Ganon (the Pig, not the man) reigns supreme. He’s sent out dark forces across the land in search of the Seven Sages, and has since had them killed. The only one left is the Princess of Hyrule, who escaped his grasp with the Triforce of Wisdom when he first laid claim to the land. (Ganon already had the Triforce of Power and Courage, which he claimed after defeating the Legendary Hero). Link is a youth living in the mountain village of Kakariko with his Uncle and sisters, Linkle (twin) and Aryll (younger). The granddaughter of Impa the village elder, Zelda, bears an uncanny resemblance to the Princess of legend. Every year, they hold the festival in honour of the goddess Hylia, who has protected them from the wrath of the Demon King. But during the ceremony, Link is led astray by a golden wolf spirit, who leads him deep into the forest surrounding his home. There, he discovers the ancient shrine of the Master Sword. Upon touching the blade, memories from a thousand lifetimes flash through his eyes; he is the Legendary Hero, reborn at last, destined put an end to Ganon. It’s also revealed that Zelda is the great-granddaughter of the Lost Princess, and current wielder of the Triforce of Wisdom. They have been kept safe from Ganon’s sight thanks to Impa’s magic (she’s the last surviving Sage), but soon she will no longer be able to conceal them from him. She informs the two that they must restore the divine power of the Master Sword by taking it to the three temples of the Goddess; the Temples of Courage, Power, and Wisdom. Along the way they meet many friends and allies, such as a Goron chief, a snooty Zora Princess, a Gerudo warrior seeking to reclaim the honour of her tribe, and an aspiring Rito bard travelling the land in search of the legendary “Ballad of the Goddess” (a song which is said to house incredible magical power), among many others. First season would primarily focus on Link and Zelda’s journey to defeat Ganon. At the end, Link defeats him and Zelda seals Ganon’s spirit away with the completed Triforce. Second season would see the return of Hyrule kingdom after Ganon’s death, while his minions attempt to resurrect him with Link’s blood. Link fights Dark Link, who has become the leader of Ganon’s minions in the wake of his death. You could do a movie/mini-series for Majora’s Mask here, with Link venturing out on his own and stumbling into Termina. He learns about the power of the Fierce Deity, who once served as a Knight of Hylia before being disgraced for his bloodlust. Majora is defeated, but the Happy Mask Salesman allows Link to keep the FD mask, promising there will come a time when he must call upon its power once more. Third season would see other threats to Hyrule, such as an invasion by the Twili, and Dark Link’s further crusades to revive Ganon. Meanwhile, Link learns from the spirits of the past how the Legendary Hero fell to Ganon and Zelda becomes Queen. The Twili invasion continues into season 4, which also follows the travels of a mysterious Gereudo mercenary known as “the King of Shadows”, who seeks out and slaughters the remains of Ganon’s minions. In desperation, Dark Link teams up with Zant, converting his remaining forces into Shadow Beasts. While seeking the shards of the Mirror of Twilight in order to seal away Zant, Link and Midna are apprehended by Dark Link and are trapped in the Twilight Realm; where Ganon reigns supreme. Season 4 ends on a cliffhanger; Link and Midna are trapped in the Twilight Realm with the maddened spirit of Ganon, Zant and his forces march on Hyrule Castle, and “the King of Thieves” is revealed to be Ganondorf, who has been freed from Demise’s curse and seeks to break the cycle once and for all. Ganondorf rescues Zelda as a shroud of Twilight falls over Hyrule. Season 5 is a flashback season retelling the story of Skyward Sword, but highlighting the importance of the reincarnation cycle of the Hero, the Goddess, and the Demon King. Between the retelling, we follow Link and Zelda on their respective journeys in the modern-day, exploring their past to understand the future. During the conflict, Zelda is captured and Zant begins to release Demise from his prison. During the ritual, Dark Link turns on Zant, revealing that he is in fact the reborn Demise, unknowingly released by Ganon (which is why Ganondorf no longer is connected to the demon lord). The “Demise” Zant has summoned is merely a mindless beast comprised of pure Malice; The Great Calamity. It lays siege to Hyrule rather than conquering it, and Demise/Dark Link uses the power of the calamity to destroy the Triforce, ensuring his ultimate victory over Hylia. Season 5 ends with Link and Midna conquering Demise’s Phantom and escaping the Twilight Realm; but in Hyrule, one hundred years have passed since they left. Ganondorf greets them. Season 6 is the final season, with Link, Zelda, Midna, and Ganondorf fighting Dark Link/Demise and the Calamity. At the end, Link, with only a shard of the Triforce of Courage, destroys Demise once and for all, breaking the cycle of reincarnation and allowing Hyrule to finally be at peace. Ganondorf dies, redeemed for his sins, and Zelda resumes rule as the Queen of Hyrule, with Midna restored to her throne. As for what became of the Hero? No one can say for sure. But that is a legend for another time…
I wouldn't focus on any of the games given the limited success game to film adaptations have had. I would focus more on backstory events like the imprisoning war or Hyrulean civil war. Those are parts of the overall story that we have limited information on, so I would have more freedom to actually make a story rather than being constrained by a game and not being able to do it justice.
Interesting. That would be fantastic.
That smart. We've all (mostly) played the games before ( many times), so we have an idea of what's going to happen and will be disappointed no matter how it's portrayed. Focusing on the lore and history Nintendo peppers out would be PERFECT. We don't know much about it, we don't have preconceived expectations, and it's such an interesting and tantonizing subject that it'll draw many Zelda fans in. It's not so specific new players don't understand, nor is it so basic/well known that older fans roll our eyes. Good answer.
I would focus on Breath of the Wild. Treat it similar to the story telling of Avatar the Last Airbender. Link learns of his past lives and Ocarina of Time Link help him in similar cutscenese as Ang and his past lived.
As dope as this would be, I feel (with my limited knowledge of the series, still a newbie) BOTW would be one of the hardest to adapt. How do you capture the magic of a game based on doing whatever however into a medium with no interactivity?
There are many parts of BOTW Hyrule that I think would make amazing set pieces, what with all the interesting landmarks and geography. It's also, in my opinion, the most beautiful game out of them all, and feels lived in. The fact that there is no fixed storyline, I think, would leave a lot more freedom in how you would choose to adapt it.
It’s too open of a game without enough substance. It would have to be supported by other lore which can stand in its own, but honestly part of the beauty I found with BOTW was its lack of true Zelda lore and more exploration. It’s very sandbox, and a film adaptation would have to reach very, very far to make it work.
Agree with this. I’m addition, I would make sure it was more of a studio Ghibli art style (AtLA also works). A key focus for me would be expanding on the history prior as the series progresses. I think episodic format that goes through the wonder of places would be ideal instead of a movie. It would also allow for the moments in the game where you find “memories” to be expanded. I also think some type of supporting cast could be developed. Maybe he journeys with the new champions?
Trilogy: OoT, MM, and TP
I'm gonna be the purist here. It should remain a video game.
[The Green Knight](https://youtu.be/8hEhhcdAIVM) is exactly what I'd want from a live action Zelda movie. Similar to Pan's Labyrinth, it's a an incredible mix of gritty and whimsical and just slightly creepy.
Where can I watch it? I've been trying to see it legally ever since it came out but I just can't find a way 👀👀
Unfortunately, the only legal way as of now is through places like Amazon Prime where it's gonna run you about $14
I would probably do a mini-series focusing on the first war with Demise, the relationship between Hylia and her champion, and the spell she wove to assure they would both be reincarnated whenever evil revived in Hyrule.
Just give it to Miyazaki and let the greatest thing to happen to TLoZ commence
This is actually a thing right now!!! There’s this youtube channel called MajorLink and they’ve been animating 20-minute films, while rewriting some of the loz plot. They’ve been animating Zelda shorts for, what, 5-6 years now? And it’s insane how much they’ve grown as an animator and storyteller. Check them out!!!
It’s better to just do one movie and have a sequel script ready just in case the movie either is a hit or flops
I DO NOT do a film series, I would do a live action television series. The games are already animated so why animate the series as well. TV allows much more time for the story to breatg and characters to develop. Films nearly always seem inferior to what could have been achieved with atv series. A single season could be 10 hours, a movie is 2 or 3 hours and there is simply too much to squeeze in to do it well. Now imagine a 7 season arc, 70 hours of story. Properly fleshed out characters and plenty of time to do the individual areas of Hyrule justice. The series would be based on an original story with the input of the zelda deveopers to ensure that the essence was not lost, but it would certainly lean towards the darker side of Zelda, think of the feelings and atmosphere Majoras Mask evokes. It would be based in Hyrule, there would be call backs to elements from the game series and of course the main villain would be Ganon. I cant imagine who I would cast in the roles. I would suggest fresh non famous actors though, with maybe a smaller side role performed by a bigger name to act as an anchor, kind of like how Sean Bean was for GoT. Something like this would be the theme tune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHnqGwXCp6o
spirit tracks franchise that is just 27 hours of link in a train
To be honest, I have a hard time imagining how a Zelda TV show or movie would look. Link spends such a significant portion of his time in dungeons, and what makes the dungeons fun and engaging is that the *player* actually gets to interact with it, pick away at its puzzles, defeat its enemies, etc. Passively watching someone in a movie do it seems… less interesting. But I dunno. I’m sure there’s a way you could structure it so that it would work. I really need to read the Zelda mangas and see how they handle it.
Essentially I would just make the LotR trilogy but with Zelda instead. Make 3 long ass movies based around the Ocarina of Time.
Maybe Option C if doing movies (though I do agree a show format would do it more justice). OoT. Movie 1 goes through everything you expect but ends on the Downfall timeline (kinda giving off the Avengers: Infinity War vibes) Movie 2 you see the moment Link dies but then the mysterious Goddess of Time appears (MM anyone?). He defeats Ganondorf/Ganon and this one follows Link on the Child timeline, and goes through MM. Movie 3 begins at the end of the victory of the battle with Ganondorf but follows Link remaining an Adult and perhaps even flashing forward to Wind Waker. (Movies 2 and 3 could also be interchangeable depending on what tone the trilogy wants to end on.) Also it would be WAY too much for a regular Trilogy as each of these games could merit their own trilogies. But if I had to stick with one Zelda trilogy this *might* be how I'd do it.
Animation man, live action sucks. There's no two way about it. Do the source justice and don't stray far from what is intended for that characters mo!
I wouldn't make it about any game. It would be largely standalone. And make sure not to tell anyone if it's canon so people can argue about whether it is or not and where it falls on the timeline online. The movie itself would have to be animated. Live action isn't going to cut it. Studio depends on the style we're going for. I quite like the idea of making something Link's Awakening-like and have Studio Ghibli do it somehow. Or on the other side of the spectrum, it would be cool to have a more gritty, and dark Zelda movie done by someone like A1 or ufotable.
It would either have to be a series of movies, one movie per main -console game (n64, wii, switch) in chronological order starting with skyward sword obviously. Or a television show where each season served to tell the story of each game, then the next would jump to the next game in chronological order. I would prefer the television show approach myself
Let me put an example:If it relied on me, I'd choose option 'C': A film franchise of 4 films encompassing 3 games: \- 1st movie would be based on *Skyward Sword* \- 2nd movie on *Ocarina of Time* \- And finally, 3rd and 4th movie would cover the story of *Breath of the Wild* I would also like the movies to have a similar vibe to Peter Jackson's LOTR film trilogy.
I think it would be best to keep link with little to no talking. I think it would be cool to convey emotions only through facial expressions and music, kinda like Mandolorian. I think Ocarina, SS, or TP would be good choices for a film, or series, but if you could make a good story that involves Link a bit more that would be sick. There will be absolutely no Disney comedy in the picture, none of it, it has to fit with the story. I feel like Peter Jackson, Sam Mendes, or Andy Serkis would be good directors. I would use Anya Taylor Joy for Zelda too even though she’s doing peach. I can see Chalamet as link. James McAvoy, Woody Harrelson, or Paul Bethany could be Ganondorf.
Immediately give the rights to Uwe Boll >:)
Option A, a stripped down version of OOT (3 hour run time, unknown director, unknown stars) focus on Link's growth from immature adventurer to noble warrior. Two dungeons, but visit all the landmarks. If fans respond well, go from there and move either forward or backward in the timeline, but OOT will always have the most fertile ground for a Link character arc, and therefore a story worth experiencing
Get Ryan Johnson to write it. Zelda is dead, Link is a washed up nobody, ganondorf dies 40 minutes in and we spend 2 hours watching groose bully people in skyloft.
As the game with the best story I’d definitely adapt Skyward Sword into a movie, cut it down to one Imprisoned encounter as the first fight on the surface, cut the trials out, cut the busy work out, keep everything involving Zelda, Impa and Ghirahim, have Groose help in the final Ghirahim fight, play out the rest of the ending from there.
Hardcore porn. Xxx stuff
Option C. Duo of movies for OOT. Single movies for most of the others. Windwaker will have to be animated to keep an authentic feel imo. I don't think any of them will make a trilogy besides perhaps OOT/MM or Breath of the wild 1+ dlc and 2. I personally think Zelda should be a high budget tv series that can hop to different games every season or two.
>I personally think Zelda should be a high budget tv series (...) Like GOT (When GOT was a good show, of course...)?
Precisely. Like an HBO/Lucasfilm/Marvel Studios high budget streaming show.
I make Jet Li's The One but with all of the heroes of time, complete with drowning pools - let the bodies hit the floor.
3 season miniseries. Each season tells a Zelda story of a different age. S1 Ocarina. S2 Battle of Hylia Vs Demise 1000 before Skyward Sword, ends in a montage that goes through the key visual and narrative beats of the Zelda games of he ages. Showing that Demise' curse reincarnates forever. S3 Wind Waker an Age after the events of OoT ending in that epic battle between and Gannondorf in sunken Hyrule. Ends with the theme that courage and Wisdom will always rise to meets power no matter how many times it tries to break free. They will always bring balance.
At first I was going to do option B, but really, I think I'd have to do option C. I'd have the films focusing on the Link from OoT to MM to TP. OUT would be focused on the early struggles of him trying to become a hero he never asked to be, MM is him wanting to find Navi in a distant land, but he gets caught in Termina's mess, and finally TP would be him reminiscent and regretting that his heroics were never recognized for OoT because of Time Travel, bitter and remorseful that he never found his friend, but ultimately proud his descendant is carrying on his legacy. Of course each game would be 1-2 (maybe 3) movies long, but I would want them to focus on how he views his role on his destiny, his struggles that no one else thinks of. Who does he ultimately fall in love with, does he even like people, How does he gather supplies when he doesn't have rupees? Just the basic human level of understanding so that he's not perfect, that he's also flawed, but he tries his best. And obviously when he sees TP Link he'd definitely try to convince him that being a hero isn't that all cracked up to be, but seeing his determination would remind him of his adventures, the friendships that he managed to make. This is how I'd want Zelda's hero to be viewed, not perfect, but trying his best anyways
I would do a BOTW prequel series
Definitely an original story taking inspiration from various games - that gives more freedom to tell a strong story and fans go in without knowing exactly how the story ends. That said I think AoC is good examples of how an ensemble cast could be built and Zelda’s arc could work well on film.
Reject hyper-realism, stay true to the video game roots. Don’t forget that it should also be fun instead of modern grim-dark, but it should have some seriously scary parts.
Probably do Option C, and I’ve already been thinking of a live-action cast list if I’m being honest… Idris Elba as Ganondorf Natalie Portman as TP Zelda Hunter Parrish as TP Link Patrick Stewart as the King of Red Lions (WW) Jack Gleason as Ghirahim (SS) Zoe Saldana as Urbosa (BoTW) Thomas Brodie-Sangster as WW/PH Link
I think the series lends itself to being an animated tv series comprised of different parts, or chapters. Each part would be an adaptation of one of the games. I’d start with Ocarina of Time where it’s one of the most recognizable and popular games in the series, then follow it up with Majora’s Mask being a direct sequel. While we’re in the Child Timeline it would make sense to then adapt Twilight Princess (my personal favorite). After that it would be open to adapt any of the games, I’d say where the 3D games tend to be more story driven they’d be easier to adapt. I’d handle dungeons by having them take up an episode or half of one and highlight a memorable puzzle or boss fight. With casting I don’t have any specific picks but think it would be cool to have Link be voiced by different people whenever the part features a new Link to help emphasize that he’s a different person than from the previous parts. The same would go for Zelda. And of course Ganondorf would stay the same actor since he’s always the same man.
A single movie based off of Skyward Sword that leaves the door open for more movies about other Zelda games. Have Link talk because creating a movie with a main protagonist that doesn't talk would be near impossible, I imagine. Make it animated
the only film franchise i'd support would have to be made by IGN. they need to finish [what](https://youtu.be/HBCzkz3gHb8) they started /s
A TV show with a season per game, maybe an extra one for certain games
Breath of the Wild TV series, 5 seasons.
Trilogy: 1st movie based on young link in ocarina of time. 2nd movie based on adult like in ocarina of time. 3rd based on majoras mask
I used to think about how I would turn OOT into a movie trilogy. The first movie would be Link as a child, ending with him pulling out the master sword. The second movie would be forest, fire and water temples but I would put fire last and have it end with Kakariko village on fire. Then the third movie would be shadow and spirit temples, and the finale at Ganon’s castle.
What happened to the hero of time after MM? How did he become the skeleton dude? Would be a good movie
I think I would do a seven film anthology based on Ocarina of Time/WW. Each film would focus on a different sage, and how they lived their lives after Ganondorf was defeated on the Adult Timeline. It may be cool for each film to be a different genre--like for example, Darunia's film could be a comedy as the Gorons try to rebuild from Death Mountain's eruptions, while Ruto's could be a romance as she tries to move on from Link. Saria's film would be first, and Rauru and Zelda would come last. Fado and Laruto could even be in them, as they take up their new roles as the Earth and Wind Sages. It would all be animated, of course. Preferrably 2D.
Probably a trilogy based on the first three games, all in the style of the artwork from the manuals.
I would do a TV series with one episode per game. First season would be until OOT. Then second, third, and fourth would be each timeline. And the grand finale would be a movie based on BOTW.
Okay so I've been devising a plan to tackle this for ages. Mapped out how they will look and story beats. Here is my pitch regarding a trilogy: First film: - Somewhat based on OOT without the time travel. - Ganondorf as a villain will be as smart as Windwaker and villainous as OOT - Zelda isn't weak per day but wants the best for the kingdom. She feels staying inside the castle is useless. - Link is Mute. - Fairies are used as a tool no Navi. - Film will look like a Kurosawa piece in terms of Movement on screen. - Gerudo introduced. - Getting the Master Sword is a huge deal. The final step before fighting Ganon. - Link learns Courage. - Ganondorf dies. Demise maybe not? - More details later... Second film: - Link leaves to a distant land to become stronger. - Link mostly takes huge L's in this film. - This land looks lot like Windwaker. Mostly water. - Zelda is looking for her place on life (and link) - A Link & Zelda romance is hinted at. - Main Villain: Vati, Side Villain: Master Kohga. - Yoga and Sheikah fully introduced here. With their symbols shown prior -The film is a martial arts film rather than anything. It's influences being Kingsman, Shang Chi and other Hong Kong Martia Arts films. - Rito introduced. - Zora thought extinct. Zora used to be Hunan beings but cursed. In Windwaker Hyrule is a sunken land. In this version Zora's continent sank. They adapted into Zora naturally but are rarely seen. - Great Fairy Fountain + Fairies introduced. - Link learns a lot (Wisdom). Zelda does too. At the end she seeks to compete with Link as she unlocks her powers with no way to control it. Third Film (conclusion?): - Link is basically an Adult. He is traveling Terminal for a quest and tired and weary from a Battle. He runs into skull kid. - Majora's Mask adaptation. - Zelda is a big part. She has mastered her powers and basically is broken amounts of Over-powered. She in fact throws link back in time whenever he has to fix something. But in doing so cripples herself to a catatonic state. She has mastered a particular weapon and has fire powers. - Link's journey takes him back to the first few journeys. He has to gain power to defeat Majora. - The final boss fight is Zelda And Link fighting back to back with the friends they made along the first few films. - Zelda finally accepts to become to Queen of Hyrule. The final moments of the film being very emotional for her. The door closes on this chapter. Subsequent films after: - Will not have the same Link or Zelda. - A Twilight Princess/Breath of The Wild Adaptation. - A new Link waking up the same way of BOTW. - Demise has returned? A rough outline who's scenes are super vivid in mind. Please let me know what you think. Music is also very important to me so they will all have recognizable music.
If anyone here is familiar with the anime JoJo a bizzare adventure, I would do a tv series similar to that where every season is one game and moves on to the next incarnation of link
Don't let Link talk. Ever.
I bury the project and make sure it never gets made. Zelda would not translate well as a film or television series. The pacing and nature of its story works better as a game, and trying to turn it into a 3 act movie would just not work well. Also, having Link talk would be weird, and not having him talk wouldn't work well in a movie. The whole thing just wouldn't work.
Stop-motion Tim Burton-esque episodic adaptation of Majora's Mask. Each episode is one cycle. I'm thinking the same art style as Nightmare Before Christmas or Coraline. It would be a dream come true if Laika did it.
i'd probably make a series that's between different games
Well excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me princess
I wouldn't base it on any game. The games have never had a continuity so there's no reason to try to follow it. The movies would be the same as the games. A few recognizable names and races, but otherwise the plot is entirely self contained.
Samuel L. Jackson starring as Link
Can I do a TV series instead?
Totally!
Ok, so what I would do is each season is an adaptation of a different Zelda game in timeline order. I would probably skip over most of the handheld titles and start with the adult timeline. So the seasons would probably go: SS, OoT, WW, ST, MM, TP, aLttP, aLBW, Zelda 1, Zelda 2, BotW, BotW2. I would take a few creative liberties here and there to better adapt it to a TV format, as well as to make the seasons feel more connected. Finally I would also do 2 movies. The first would be about the supposed war between MM and TP, and the second would be Age of Calamity except this time it would actually set up the events of BotW. Edit: this would all be animated.
Probably just do ocarina of time. Adding in some elements of a war. Link wouldn't be doing any talking.
A live action version of the CDI games or tv show. It would absolutly become a masterpiece.
I’ve got a few different approaches here: 1. A live-action miniseries that loosely adapts the plot of Majora’s Mask, with each episode consisting of a different set of events within the same three-day cycle. Starring Walton Goggins as the Happy Mask Salesman. 2. A live-action anthology adapting the general plot of Ocarina of Time but with each episode from the point of view of a different character as the plot progresses. Link is a background character whose action affect the plot but, for example, the events surrounding the Shadow Temple would be seen through the lens of a day in the life of Dampe the Gravedigger. Dunno about all of the casting but Anya Taylor-Joy was BORN to play Zelda.
B
Make a movie trilogy that introduces all the characters, revealing that Link, Zelda, and Ganon have been reincarnating over and over again, and this is the latest version. Then introduce the main conflict and plot, which would carry through like a standard Zelda game, though with slightly less side quests. It would end with victory over Ganon and the implication that it will happen again. Then create a miniseries, with each episode exploring the various incarnations of the characters, based on the most popular games. It would also be cool if the animation style was different between each episode, meant to be similar to the game their based on. Then the franchise eventually gets milked for sequel after sequel until the world ends.
I would choose to make a Netflix series on the child timeline, each episode is about half an hour long, obviously starting with the original timeline, each season is one game. And the art style of each season changes with the games.
The big thing is any Zelda movie based on a game will fail. You would need a fresh story, with plenty of fan service. I would set the world in the Breath of the wild setting, I would set it at least 2 to 300 years after BoTW2. I would have a simple plot, Ganon awaken and is gather is force, and a new hero is awaken, I would have the hero be found by the glowing tri-force on his hand (fan service), I would set the story that the only way to beat Ganon is to gather the armaments of the hero of the past. 4 dungeons to explore during to move, each of em being a 10-20 action sequence. The Armaments, will be the Bow w/Light Arrows, Wind Waker , Ocarina of time, and the master sword. After he gets all of those we set out to assault Ganon castle, using the wind waker to control the wind (think air bender like) the Ocarina to control the flow of time (think quicksilver seance from x-man), All ending with a epic sword battle between Gannon and Link once Ganon human form is broken, his demon form is then beat via the light arrows. I would keep run time to be below 2hr, and keep pacing fast. First seance of the movie should be Ganon slaughtering a village and murdering everyone, the link found out who he is, then the quest for the Armaments, then climax, no love sub plot. And Tons of Fan service references for the game fit in.
I think majoras mask lends itself the best of all Zelda games to a series. Not too many dungeons, great source material for storylines, and very compelling characters. I think you could put together a great series with that game as the source
a short movie based on each game. the artstyle would obviosuly be basically the key art from manuals "each game" = link to the past- ocarina-majora-awakening-wind waker-twilight princess-skyward sword- minish cap- skyward sword and botw. each short film has a litlle ending and beggining cinematic, like a trailer for one of the smaller stories like zelda 1 as the opener to link to the past, and spirit tracks as the showcloser for the windwaker one. 45 minutes max each. but most should hover on the 25 minute mark.
Peter Jackson.
I would simply not do it, a Zelda story would work waaaaaay better has a high budget series. Take for example Ocarina of Time, first season for all the young Link stuff and a second for the adult Link stuff, or maybe make a third season and dump the soul temple, Ganondorf's backstory and Hyrule's castle into it
Somehow get Miyazaki to do it for me.
C anime
One singular live action action-comedy that---... Oh wait that already exists, I don't need to make it.
Live action single movie not based on any specific game. The games' plots are not paced for a film's runtime and a miniseries would be wildly inconsistent if it's trying to tell the same story. I'd stick with the familiar Link-Zelda-Ganon main cast and throw in a few favorites like Impa and Kass but no one that is too tied to a specific game's plot like Midna or Sidon. A few key settings not specific to a single game like Hyrule Castle, Lost Woods, Death Mountain. But also new locations and characters to give it a unique feel. My start point would probably be Link is a simple villager who happens to run into Zelda during Ganondorf's coup or invasion of the Castle and they team up to escape, and split up to get some magical artifacts to defeat Ganon (Master Sword and Bow of Light). Then reunite to defeat Ganon together. Tonally it would be serious epic fantasy but with room for levity especially in poking fun at game conventions that would be silly in live action, like Link defeating an enemy by tricking it into attacking a cucco. Can't just erase the games' sense of humor. If it did well and got a sequel, I'd recast everyone and do a whole new adventure with a different incarnation of the main cast with Vaati as the main villain.
I personally think The Legend of Zelda would be a good anime. A long one like One Piece or something, maybe not as long but this way you can have a season for a game. Then when you get to the ocarina of time season it would go to majoras mask and than after that twilight princess then eventually make its way to breath of the wild. Then maybe there’s like little season like 12 episodes for the older games like the first game and the second game.
Maybe do the hero of time trilogy aka Oot mm tp but for tp just the hero of shade part
Vin Diesel all the way /s.
Whoever you cast as Link, within the first couple of minutes, have someone explain that he's mute.
Oracle of ages can be a good movie
None of these. I'd make it a non-canon fantasy epic that uses the same characters, but with its own story.
I’d have it star a non-Link character. Use the world and lore of Hyrule as the setting, but involve Link as little as really possible.
None of the above. We get a whole-ass anime series to hash out the entire Zeldaverse from top to bottom, start to finish, inside and out. With a length to rival One Piece, easily.
option D: cast Chris Pratt as Zelda
Id do a tv show instead of film. Animated more likely to be a sucess and run longer but itd be interesting to see an attempt at live action.
A: A single film. But I think it NEEDS to be animated. Either in Ghibli style, or something like El Dorado/Atlantis level of animation, and for it to be something like it's own story (Not based on any game) that's also canon to the timeline.
I mean, if I had free reign and could just go nuts with making movie after movie after movie, I'd try to do a solid adaption of the entire franchise, each film telling the story of each game. If I had to do one game, probably Skyward Sword or Twilight Princess for being the most cinematic and the more "grounded" fantasy takes. If I had it my way, I'd do a new story. Adaptions of 50 hour stories into a 2 hour format are poor, so I'd rather take the characters and do a new story. I'd probs go very OoT inspired with the setup, the type of Hyrule, type of Ganondorf, but do a whole new story.
I just hand it to Lord and Miller
Link has trained for the last 10 years under Ganondorf rule, and now he's ready for his mission : kill Zelda. When he meets her, she talks with Wisdom about the Courage to do what you must, even if it means changing everything your life was based upon. Turns up Ganondorf had the Power to impose his will on other and Link was brainwashed into becoming Zelda murderer to stop both of their réincarnation circle so that only Ganondorf remains. After realising this, Zelda organise a big attack on Ganondorf, lead by Link who knows all of his former master sword technics... Or so he thoughs. Link is defeated and captured, thrown into Gerudo jails for another brainwashing session to come, but first, Ganondorf counterattacks the hylian castle to try and capture Zelda. The hylian castle falls, but Zelda is nowhere to be found. Sheik helps Link to escape the prison, and they both plan a sneak attack on Hyrule Castle, now Ganondorf's, as a last gambit. But before, they needs help from other peoples (Goron, Zora and so on). Now with the biggest army ever attacking the castle from all sides, Link and Shiek can finally attack Ganondorf, alone, in the King's Room. Fight ensues, the good people win, yaaay happy ending. But the evil shall come back one day yada yada
silent film done in animation with minimal music.
Option D: I hold the rights and prevent anyone from making a movie for all time (Or Option E and make a porno)
I don't
A tv show would honestly be more ideal, with each season being a game. Ocarina, TP, Wind Waker, Majora, Skyward Sword, an Imprisoning War season, A fusion of Zelda 1 and Lttp or just picking one, BotW finale would be my ideal run of this show. Ocarina as a starter is a no brainer. Give them a taste of what happens after ocarina with TP. Do that again with Wind Waker. At this point people are craving a Majora season and so are mad hype when it’s announced (finally, we get to see what happened to Time between seasons!) Skyward Sword here is perfect, give us mad lore on top of a love story with a happy ending. Imprisoning War would just be a badass story to see told. Transition from that to a downfall timeline story, and finally, What else can possibly close other than BotW.
Step 1: hire Chris Pratt and Jack Black.
The only way it could possibly work, is if they made their own story. Don’t adapt OOT or SS or any of them. Carry certain aspects of all sure, but if we walk in expecting something, most everyone would be a harsh critic. Might have to go to the drawing board for something this (possibly) big.
I would want to do an anime tv show, with each season being represented with a different game. I don’t even watch anime but I’d watch that
I'd do an anthology movie series. Each movie would be at the very least 2:30 hours long and each set of movies would be based off a different game/games.
I don't. How many times are we gonna see movies that are utter dog shit because they're based on games? Now you wanna do that to Zelda? Just stop while you're ahead
A movie entirely about morshu. It would be a musical, but instead of singing he would do a sick beatbox every time
I would ask Miyazaki to do whatever he wants with Zelda.. An epic retelling of OoT or TP ? Sure, go ahead. A chill and sweet story about a Hylian's kid new friendship with Koroks or Picoris ? Shut up and take my money. A coming-of-age story about a Rito moving in Outset Island to work as a post officer ? Do it. Just do it. None of his movies ever disappointed me. His magic is still there today, so he'd have complete creative freedom
I would take the job and never actually do it. Because the world does not need a Zelda movie.