The Legend of Zelda Movie Director Teases “Awesome Idea” and Tone for Adaptation

At the end of last year, Nintendo announced some huge news for fans of The Legend of Zelda games. The company revealed that the long-rumored live-action film adaptation was finally in the works. After The Super Mario Bros. Movie grossed over a billion dollars at the box office last year, Nintendo decided to team up with Sony Pictures to bring Zelda to life on the big screen. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is set to helm the feature, and the director recently teased the “awesome idea” behind the film. 

“I have this awesome idea,” Ball shared with Total Film. “I’ve been thinking about it for a long freakin’ time, of how cool a Zelda movie would be… I want to fulfill people’s greatest desires. I know it’s important, this [Zelda] franchise, to people and I want it to be a serious movie. A real movie that can give people an escape.” 

“I want to live in that world,” he added. “That’s the thing I want to try to create – it’s got to feel like something real. Something serious and cool, but fun and whimsical.”

“I’ve always said, I would love to see a live-action Miyazaki. That wonder and whimsy that he brings to things, I would love to see something like that,” Ball said in an interview late last year. “It’s going to be awesome. My whole life has led up to this moment. I grew up on Zelda and it is the most important property, I think, that’s untapped IP, if you will. So we very much are working hard to do something. We’re not just trying to do it because we can. We want to make something really special.”

“I have been working on the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda for many years now with Avi Arad-san, who has produced many mega hit films,” Nintendo game director Shigeru Miyamoto said in a statement when the project was announced. “I have asked Avi-san to produce this film with me, and we have now officially started the development of the film with Nintendo itself heavily involved in the production. It will take time until its completion, but I hope you look forward to seeing it.”

Stay tuned for more updates about the live-action The Legend of Zelda movie.