Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Director Wanted Ganondorf "Men and Women Would Fall For"

When The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom released earlier this year, players were introduced to a radical new take on Ganondorf. The beloved villain did not appear in Breath of the Wild, and when he showed up in the sequel, it was in a much different form than players had previously seen. Instead of creating something close to his appearance in Ocarina of Time, the developers took a different approach, one that the Zelda fandom quickly dubbed "sexy Ganondorf." In a new interview with Nintendo Dream (translated by Nintendo Everything), director Hidemaro Fujibayashi discussed the designer's approach. 

The Origin of Sexy Ganondorf

"The designer didn't simply make him look violent; they managed to fulfill my wish of making him look overwhelmingly evil while also being handsome enough that both men and women would fall for him. We put a lot of thought into choosing his clothes and accessories, keeping in mind that Ganondorf himself should have a strong sense of beauty and good taste," Fujibayashi told Nintendo Dream. "We thought he would probably be a character who paid a lot of attention to his appearance, demonstrating his dignity and intelligence as a king, and designing him with that in mind, we were meticulous with his face, body, all the way down to his fingertips, making him come off as robust and sexy at the same time."

It's been interesting to see how Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have approached classic characters; both games have offered new takes that remain faithful to what's come before, while also giving fans something unique to that world. Nearly every Zelda game has offered unique designs for Link and Zelda, but both of these games have taken things farther, with Nintendo showing a much greater willingness to defy expectations. For the most part, these redesigns have been very well-received, and could shape how the characters appear in other media. 

The Zelda Live-Action Movie

Earlier this month, Nintendo announced that a live-action movie based on the Zelda franchise is currently in development. No details about the movie have been revealed, including how it will approach the source material. It's very likely the movie will pull elements from different Zelda games, with Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom both being distinct possibilities. The two games have been massively successful on Nintendo Switch, selling about 50 million copies combined. Given that level of success, it's a safe bet that we'll see an impact on the movie, and that could apply to the character designs. That could mean a Link that doesn't wear a green tunic, and maybe even a "sexy" take on Ganondorf. With no one cast in these roles just yet, fans will just have to wait and see how things play out. 

How do you feel about Ganondorf's design in Tears of the Kingdom? Do you think this design will appear in the Zelda movie? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!