
The Legend of Zelda live-action movie has been in the headlines quite a bit over the past few weeks, and now Sony has chimed in, reiterating just how "massive" it's going to be thanks to Shigeru Miyamoto's "strong vision" of this particular world.
Here's exactly what Sony Motion Pictures Group chairman Tom Rothman had to say during an interview with Deadline - noting how The Super Mario Bros. Movie also benefited from its collaboration with Miyamoto and labelling him a "true genius" when it comes to Zelda, as he knows the world and "understands it thoroughly":
"Because the movie is being developed and made in the closest possible collaboration with [Nintendo video game designer] Shigeru Miyamoto. He’s a true genius in that world, and it’s really his strong vision that is motivating it. He created it and understands it thoroughly. You only [have] to look at the results of Super Mario Brothers to see."
In the original announcement of the live-action movie, it was revealed Sony would be co-fiancing the film, with Avi Arad (Chairman of Arad Productions Inc.) working alongside Miyamoto.
Wes Ball (Kingdom of Planet of the Apes) will be directing this big-screen outing. He's previously gone on record saying he's been following Link's adventures throughout his life. He's also acknowledged the importance of the series and wants to "fulfil people's greatest desires".
There are no other details or a release date for this movie just yet, but when more is revealed we'll let you know.
[source deadline.com]
Comments 73
I'm pretty excited!
So less substance, more references.
AGAIN.
Got it.
The Mario movie was great for what it was because it was emblematic of the games. It wasn't a creative or unique story, but neither are the games. It was the spirit of mario and his friends up on the screen, pure and simple. That's really all I'm hoping for for Zelda. I've been thankful that Link hasn't spoken these last 30 years cause that has never been Miyamoto's intent. He's supposed to be a true avatar for the player, a link between gamer and the game. That creates a unique interpretation of the game's experience for everyone who's ever played Zelda. I think the only way to do that justice for the fans is play it just like they did the Mario movie. Shoot straight down the middle and make it as emblematic of the games as you can and I think you'll have a winner.
@N00BiSH whilst this outcome wouldn't surprise me, I feel like they won't be as heavy handed with the nostalgic distractions with this one, simply because it's live action. Doesn't seem like the type of movie where you could just slide in a reference to blowing into cartridges, nor just have 8-bit sprites scattered about. I may end up being wrong, but I've got faith that this one will be a bit more meaty than the Mario movie
I also have a strong vision for what this film will be and that is 🔮🔮🔮….
Caca
Ah yes, the man whose claim to fame is his ability in storytelling.
I'm optimistic though. It seems like everyone working on the movie cares a lot about it, and I mean... It's Zelda. They usually have pretty good stories, and I feel like the slightly grittier style than Mario might make the visual style translate a bit better than that did into live action.
I predict middling scores from critics, outraged fans, and clickbait youtubers capitalizing on it.
It will be all gameplay and no story....oh and Link will be silent lol
i dunno maybe itll be good and if it isnt who cares its not like we're lacking in good zelda content
The…the man who said he didn’t think Zelda games should focus on story…? Who was kinda pissy about majora’s mask…?
Honestly, a live action Zelda movie is going to be a hard sell for me. I know I’ll be picky about how everything looks and sounds, but we’ll see. I’ll try not to condemn it before I see anything first, though. Keyword try lol
İ am a huge Zelda fan it became in 1998 with Ocarina of time. İ can not wait to see how this movie will work. Will Link talk or not but we will see. Young and adult Link will be in the movie too, what İ have understand.
There are making movie's from games.
İt can be so fun.
İ have only watched the Resident Evil 2002 movie and it was well done. Great movie.
There is a movie from Tomb Raider 2001 İ can not remember if İ have watched or not. When this Tomb Raider movie first came out İ was saying where is the Zelda movie but we finally getting it.
Yess.
This movie will tank 🥺
No offense to Miyamoto because when it comes to games and gameplay the man is a genius. But movies need actual good stories. And we al know, saying it nicely, not that great in that.
Live action Zelda please, with Miyamoto insisting that he plays Link.
@Martijn87
It’s a tougher sell than Mario which can at least coast off both looking unique and having a unique setting but with Zelda a lot of it is going to translate into looking like generic fantasy and those have struggled at the box office and this will be amplified if they have execs constantly telling them to make it look more like Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones.
Really cant wait for this movie. But it will take a long time before its finished lol.
Do your thing Miyamoto-San and Mr. Ball. I trust you and believe, that the movie will be enjoyable to watch. Take your time.
yeah he had a "strong vision" for the live action Mario movie as well...
@Spoony_Tech
I actually think that's what they should do. Link being mostly silent and the movie being mainly the cinema equivalent of "gameplay". Link being on a quest, travelling not talking much, overcoming obstacles, meeting mythical creatures in temples and caves and befriending them in some cases and fighting in others, capturing a wild horse, stopping in the occasional town but not for long, meeting his nemesis in an epic duel...
A film about a journey with few dialogs. A film like that can definitely exist without a lot of exposition scenes or even a lot of lore or scenario. That's not what the game is about anyway. The background in these games is usually pretty simple and straightforward and can be explained in a quick introduction plus occasional dialogs but definitely doesn't require much talking or lore developing dialog. Trust your audience to understand lore and story through action and backgrounds. That's how most of it is given to the players in the games anyway.
Can't wait for the big twist in the third act that Ganon was merely a puppet for the true dark lord of Hyrule, Tingle.
@tdub154420
To be fair, there aren't a lot of movies out there these days that have a unique story.
Just waiting for the cast announcement direct and Arlos inevitable reaction howling with laughter
Link: Dwayne Johnson
Ganondorf: Jeff Daniels
Zelda: Zedanya
Tingle: Chris Pratt
I'm sure Chris Pratt won't even bother doing a Hylian accent.
Why am I so nervous about this?
This is the biggest reason why I'm confident the movie will be at least good if not even better despite me preferring animated ones.
That said, hope we'll actually see something, even just a teaser, instead of only hearing of it sooner rather than later!
Compelling narrative and perfect cast aside, If Link doesn't say 'it's Zeldin' time!' at least once during the film's runtime can we really class it a success?
I am really excited for this, do we know if it will be live action?
I still have no idea how I’m going to be able to take a real life adult human seriously that’s wearing a green fairy costume. Unless they use different attire of course (such as the blue outfit). I’m very intrigued how this will pan out.
It should start black, with a harp or something playing the notes D, F, G, A, D, the ocarina's notes in OoT/MM, in scales, mysteriously.
Fi will pop around the halfway mark and tell all viewers to take a Wii, sorry, a wee break.
I don't care how the movie turns out, as long as I hear, "Well, excuuuuuuuuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUSE me, princess!" at least once.
They keep telling it's going to be really good.
Removed - flaming/arguing
If Miyamoto really is that deeply involved, and indeed he was a major influence on The Super Mario Bros. Movie too, my hopes for this live-action Zelda movie are definitely raised higher than they were before. I'm still not entirely convinced yet, and won't be until I see the first images or trailer, but I have my fingers crossed they can do this beloved franchise as much justice as they absolutely did The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
After the Mario movie, Miyamoto being involved only means they won't do anything weird with the IP, but doesn't mean that the movie will be more than just mid.
After seeing Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, I have faith in Wes Ball being able to film this. I've not seen the Maze Runner movies, but Kingdom was clearly done with some love. I think he'll do well with this, too.
@Edu23XWiiU why so hostile? Cinematic feeling has nothing to do with story. It's just the way the story is shown. He has not worked on the stories, in fact in a lot of interviews throughout he's career he stated that he doesn't like stories in games and doesn't think it's that important.
@SalvorHardin how the Lord of the rings looks might actually work great for a Zelda movie. Game of Thrones might be to dark. But both look like confinsing fantasy worlds. The most generic fantasy movies don't have that and just look off and unreal for some reason.
But with Miyamoto taking alot of control I'm sure they get the feeling and looks of the movie perfect. The Mario movie looked amazing and the world building was the best.
@PtM thanks for sharing, I never read this interview as I don't read on IGN. I stand corrected, glad to hear he does value story after all.
Glad my triforce tattoo has been covered!!
I really enjoyed the first 3 of the latest Planet of the Apes reboot. I’m reassured that Wes Ball is the director behind the new one: equally well received.
I hadn’t been convinced by his past gigs but the Apes movies have set pieces on the level I’d hope for in a Zelda movie.
Well Excuse me Princess!!! link will be saying that everytime he around zelda.
Too bad Miyamoto hasn't really done anything with Zelda since lame-brain Aunoma took over.
@Spider-Kev A long line of critically acclaimed games and awards. Be all means don't like the guy, but don't downplay his achievements.
I do hope Aonuma-san is also being consulted as zelda has at this point been under his leadership for almost as long (he has been working on the series since OoT and was promoted to producer after WW…when he was actually trying to leave the series of all things due to burnout. Also proof that Miyamoto-dono is a good manager because he figured out that pulling Aonuma-san out of the trenches would allow him to shine and it did. )
People like to hate on Aonuma-san when they don’t like his work but most of the Zeldas they revere were due to his work (same with Miyamoto-dono). Darned if you do, darned if you don’t.
I can see my Ignore button is going to see lots of action by the time this film comes out. Haven't hit it this many times in quite a while.
@Ryu_Niiyama
Aonuma only wrote (amongst others) one Zelda game I liked.
Twilight Princess
I haven't cared for many of them since.
The legend of Zelda
Zelda 2
A link to the Past
Oracle of ages
Oracle of seasons
Minish Cap
Twilight Princess
These are the only great Zelda games.
Skyward sword
Breath of the wild
Tears of the kingdom
Majora's mask
These are the worst Zelda games
Everything else is okay-decent
@Spider-Kev Yeah, but that's your personal opinion. Calling a man lame brain on the basis you didn't find his work personally enjoyable despite the fact many of them have been highly received is weird.
Why even name call him a name anyways? What was the point of it?
Hollywood could never get Resident Evil right and that franchise revolves around zombies. I have very little hope for a live action Zelda movie.
@Gamer83 Adapting a game to movie is not easy.
Games are an interactive medium. The story themselves are part of the gameplay. It's spread out over long periods to match the length of the game.
A typical meaty rpg can be well over 60 hours. You have to cut all that down to the typical length of a film. That's alot of world building to skip over.
Game movies also run the risk of either playing it safe to please everyone which means making nothing spectacular, or take the risk of alienating people by doing it's own thing.
Even the best of video game adapted movies are just middling.
Movies require good writing to keep the viewer engaged for over an hour. Games can get away with a mediocre plot, because the core thing they focus on is gameplay.
Of course. What you just typed is why since I first played SMB way back in the late 80s I've preferred games to movies. I'm just saying, if a game series that deals mostly with zombies (something that doesn't necessarily need a fantastic story) can't be done justice on the big screen, it's doubtful Zelda will be either, even with Nintendo's involvement.
they had me up til look at the Mario movie
I've been waiting 40 years for a live action Zelda Movie. Glad it didn't release in the 90's w/ the Mario Bros one.... PLEASE BE SUPER GOOD!
10-15 years ago I would have been feeling fiercely protective over the IP and anxious over Hollywood messing it up.
Nowadays I don’t care. If it’s good, great! If it’s not I’m not going to lose sleep over it like some of you are aniticpating lol
I would have preferred if it was an anime series. That would have been much more interesting, I think. I haven't properly played the games tho.
We all know the fanbase will never be pleased.
@N00BiSH it's a kids movie. It's great for kids. You would've loved it back then. Depending on your current age: what did you expect from Mario movies?
@fenlix again, what are people expecting? Lords of the ring? Come on...
@Spider-Kev well, you're pretty alone with that opinion. I loved the old ones. Stil do but i love the new ones as well. Feeling sorry for you that you couldn't enjoy them. They are realy good games.
@Spider-Kev A. Is a genius. Everyone but you can tell.
@sportvater Well I was expecting a simple, engaging and faithful reinterpretation of the classic Mario story and characters, retold in a way that felt both unique to the medium it was being adapted to as well as appealing to all ages in the same way that the games are. Being "for kids" is a weak excuse for weak storytelling.
Oh and before I forget, faithfulness ≠ having references to the games to compensate for a lack of strong narrative.
I will only be happy if after seeing the movie I can play a new Legend of Zelda
Feels weird to say but I would rather they just didn’t do tbis
Removed - flaming/arguing
@sportvater Actually it's a movie aimed at all ages. With that said, just because a movie is aimed at kids doesn't mean it should treat kids like they incapable of understanding anything.
Pixar, Disney, Sutdio Ghibli , Laika, and even Dreamworks are aimed for families and kids. A movie can have depth, kids are capable of grasping concepts even if they don't understand it yet.
Mario sacrificed all substance. Which is fine. The movie plays it extremely safe, but it could have been so much more had the studio just had confidence.
@Edu23XWiiU Are you always a loose cannon or do you just not know how to have a conversation without escalating things?
Removed - trolling/baiting
Just saw the new planet of the apes directed by Wes Ball, if the Zelda film is equally as good as that, I'd happy
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes was really good honestly, and Wes Ball does have a lot of respect for Japanese media so I am sure this won't be awful at the very least.
i would have never expect these two studios to cooperate on something
@EriXz Suuuuure, nobody said that bout the Mario one...
@Zequio hope you're right
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