The live-action Legend of Zelda movie cast its Link and Princess Zelda recently, but every other character is still up for grabs. In fact, every other character is still unconfirmed for the movie. We can be confident that some characters, like Ganondorf, will show up no matter what. Otherwise, there are tons of possible options. The Zelda universe has spanned 29 games and has hundreds of meaningful characters to choose from. Sony and Nintendo can’t possibly and certainly won’t put even the majority of them into this movie, especially if there are plans for a series (which there undoubtedly are).
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Some characters are non-negotiable and will be in the movie, but others are not, and some of those shouldn’t be included. Here are a few characters that Sony and Nintendo ought to stay away from.
11) Ezlo
Maybe a live-action film that’s seemingly going for a more grounded, realistic take (based on the costumed images of Link and Zelda that came out) shouldn’t include Ezlo, the talking hat. Much of The Minish Cap is highly unlikely to make it into The Legend of Zelda, but this is one that shouldn’t take much thought.
Not only would a talking hat be out of place here, it wouldn’t fit tonally. Ezlo is a humorous character, and he’s quite silly. It just doesn’t make sense ever to include Ezlo in this franchise. Fans don’t really need the origin of Link’s hat (which was absent in that first image of Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Link anyway), especially not in a universe like this one is shaping up to be.
10) Majora
Majora is one of the most interesting antagonists in the entire Zelda franchise. It is an evil spirit that inhabits a mask and begins to cause the destruction of the world every few days. That is already a storyline that doesn’t quite scream “live-action adaptation.” Furthermore, by including Majora, they’d have to include plenty of other elements of Majora’s Mask. And while that game is beloved and one of the most well-regarded titles in the franchise, it’s not exactly suited for the big screen.
It’s weird, for starters, and it might be a little off-putting for audiences who haven’t played the games. It would also require that Link wear masks and transform into different characters, which is both silly and probably quite difficult to animate for live action. Best to avoid this one entirely for now.
9) Skull Kid
Along the same lines, Skull Kid probably doesn’t need to be involved in the movie. He serves as the antagonist of Majora’s Mask and is under the influence of the iconic mask he wears. He’s also one of the better tragic villains in this series. Still, the connection to Majora makes him a difficult one to include. He does also appear in Twilight Princess, but even his role there is not suited for the movie. He serves as a bit of a prankster that Link has to chase around while he teleports a ton to obtain the Master Sword. Something tells me that isn’t going to fit in this type of adaptation, either.
The easiest and most realistic way for this adaptation to grant Link the Master Sword is the Breath of the Wild method. Link will need to obtain enough strength (hearts) to get the sword like he’s King Arthur and it’s the sword in the stone, which it sort of is. That kind of rules Skull Kid out from being included here.
8) Navi
As iconic as Navi is, she just wouldn’t feel at home in anything other than a video game. Maybe the fairy can be an Easter egg, but that’s got to be the extent of it. Link should have a helper, since he has at least one person guiding him along in virtually every single game he’s ever been in.
It just can’t be Navi in the live-action movie because that’s an extra layer of CGI added to a “live-action” film, and Navi’s primary voice lines would become rather grating to the audience. Link doesn’t need to be bombarded with “Hey, listen!” all the time.
Plus, a fairy helper doesn’t fit the tone the filmmakers seem to be going with. It is being positioned as a much more grounded, muted, realistic take, and while some elements that they must include don’t mesh with that, the ones that can be avoided, like Navi, probably won’t make the cut.
7) Null
This character shouldn’t be included for many reasons. First, it is pretty much the newest character in the franchise. Hailing from Echoes of Wisdom, which some gamers probably haven’t even played yet, Null was literally first introduced to the lore in 2024. The movie was announced before Null was even known to the public.
Second, Null would be quite difficult to put on film. How does a void show up on screen? And with all the shapes and forms it takes, Null is absolutely perfect for animation, but nothing else.
Third, Null represents some deep lore. Given how important lore is to The Legend of Zelda, you can expect plenty of information and lore dumps to be in the film, namely the creation of Hyrule, the forming of the Tri-Force, and maybe even the role of Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf in all that. But Null goes beyond that, which would be taking it too far for the first movie.
If they continue on in the series, then maybe Null can be included in a later movie to further expand the lore. It was really nice that Nintendo did that for a game, but audiences will need to be built up to something like that for a movie.
6) Dampe
Dampe has been in plenty of games in this series, but he has never played a truly integral role. He does provide things for either Link or Zelda sometimes, but not things that are likely to make it into the movie.
If Dampe does get put on the big screen, he will probably just be an unnamed character who looks like Dampe but won’t be named. Dampe is otherwise a pretty weird character that primarily exists as a ghost and within graveyards, which might not be suitable for a film that’s undoubtedly going to want younger moviegoers to show up.
5) Great Fairies
Given the realism that appears to be the goal of this movie, fairies in general don’t make a lot of sense, especially not huge ones that live in fountains and upgrade Link’s armor or give him special abilities. It might be disappointing for the Great Fairy Fountain theme, perhaps the most iconic Zelda sound, not to show up, but it’s probably for the best.
Link won’t need to visit a fairy to get certain things in the movie, and these particular fairies have some undertones that might not be suitable for younger fans. That’s been true in the games, too, but perhaps with the benefit of an adaptation, the filmmakers will leave them out.
4) Tri
The Legend of Zelda is unlikely to change up the formula when going from video game to movie. You can fully expect Zelda to be a bit of a damsel in distress, and Link will be tasked with saving her and Hyrule. However, that doesn’t mean the princess should never get her own starring role and won’t ever be the main character of a movie.
When that happens, Tri might make more sense. A movie centered around Zelda would have to be a little more lighthearted and whimsical, so fairies would feel more at home. But either way, a movie where Link serves as the protagonist doesn’t need Tri, a fairy he’s never really used before.
3) Hestu
Plenty of the sillier characters from The Legend of Zelda will not make it into the movie, unfortunately. In some instances, this is a good thing. There’s no need to include someone like Hestu, who would serve zero purpose in the movie.
He exists to give Link inventory expansion, but that has no place in a movie, nor would it make any sense whatsoever. There might be a Korok Easter egg somewhere in the movie, which would make a lot more sense, but including Hestu would probably be tonally jarring and pretty much useless.
2) Vaati
It doesn’t make any sense to include a non-Ganondorf enemy for the first movie. Ganondorf has to be the main villain of the film, and including other main villains (not counting the potential dungeon bosses that could show up) in his movie is unfair to them, so Vaati should be held off.
The vast majority of the games have featured Ganondorf as the main villain, but doing so in live action would feel repetitive. At some point, Vaati and others, potentially Null as well, can serve as the villain of their own movie. Until then, keep them locked away and in waiting.
1) Zant
The same logic applies to Zant, although he was only serving Ganondorf and helping him escape the Twilight. So Zant doesn’t necessarily need to be excluded until he can serve in his own movie, although that would be more than fine.
He just needs to be excluded until a secondary movie. Having a pseudo-antagonist in the first film would probably be overdoing it, so Zant and others of a similar ilk should be saved for a Ganondorf return down the line.
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Image Courtesy of The WB Television Network -
Image Courtesy of DC Studios.
