Zelda fans, it’s time to brace yourselves because it looks like a Legend of Zelda movie may be a reality soon, whether we like it or not. During a recent episode on The Hot Mic podcast, industry insider Jeff Sneider revealed that Universal’s Illumination will be helming an animated Zelda movie for all of us Nintendo and film fans.
For those of you who may not know, Illumination was the studio behind one of the highest-grossing new movies of 2023, The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Super Mario‘s big screen outing was embraced by fans, but critics were left wanting more from the story, and the film currently holds a 59% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, The Super Mario Bros Movie is one of the most successful video game movies ever (grossing over $1.3 billion worldwide), meaning the studio has earned Nintendo’s trust.
Mario and Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto told the publication Nihon Keizai Shimbun in April 2023 that there’s “no doubt” that Nintendo will make more films based on its hit titles. And according to Sneider, Universal will be paying a “pretty penny” to make a deal for Zelda to be the next Hollywood project.
Now you may be wondering why we are worried about a future Zelda movie, in theory, it should be a slam dunk. The Zelda games tell the story of a hero named Link in the fantasy realm of Hyrule.
Link often finds himself clashing with the evil dark lord Ganondorf, who seeks the power from the ancient relic, the Triforce. He also ends up saving the kingdom’s princess, Zelda, on occasion too. Sounds like the makings of one of the best fantasy movies of all time, right?
Well, sorry to burst your bubble, friends. Zelda’s past adaptations have put us a bit on edge when it comes to talks about any new movies. Link is a silent protagonist, and when you try and give him a strong personality, it can lead to disaster. You just have to look at the 1989 animated Zelda TV series to see our point.
In the animated series, Link was changed into an obnoxious hero, with one of the most grating catchphrases ever. Who could forget his annoying line: “Well excuuuuse me princess!” We get cringe chills just from remembering that disaster.
While no Zelda movie has been officially confirmed just yet, we hope that if one does get the green light, that Link will be treated carefully. While we wait, why not look over our Super Mario movie review, and guide on everything that we know about the Super Mario Movie 2 release date?
Our sister site Pocket Tactics, also have everything you need for the Zelda video games, including a Tears of the Kingdom review, and a list of the best Zelda games you can play right now.