The Legend of Zeldais a lot of things. The franchise is consistently one of the biggest names in gaming and one of its not-so-secret weapons is its variability. The promise of a newZeldagame comes with a thousand new potential gameplay elements, storytelling details, and evolutions of the format. In that variety,Zeldafinds several compelling tones. While the franchise delivers several epic fantasies, it almost always packs away a few surprisingly terrifying moments. The feature film adaptation could gain a lot from doing the same.
Everyone seems to have a different image of how the firstcinematic adaptation ofThe Legend of Zeldacould look. Nintendo was the first in the live-action video game movie race, but early failure likely stood as an example. Most video game movies are terrible, but the current upswing in quality has led many to start hoping for them again. While many still despair at the idea of aZeldamovie, there’s reason to believe it could be better than it would have been a few decades ago.
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The idea of making a movie out ofThe Legend of Zeldais not new. Ifcomedian Adam Conoveris to be believed, Nintendo canceled a slate of planned streaming adaptations of various properties, includingZelda,when someone at Netflix leaked their existence to the press. Nintendo planned an animated adaptation with Imagi Animation Studios in the 2000s, but the studio declared bankruptcy after the financial failure of itsAstro Boymovie. That was 14 years ago, and despite some unsubstantiated rumors about Illumination taking a shot at the property, there have beenno notable attempts since then. This has allowed fans to speculate wildly.
The consistent conversation around the idea mostly centers around which existing fantasy films it should borrow from most heavily. StudioGhibli films andThe Lord of the Ringsseries are the most common source material. Neither is a perfect fit, but the series has certainly offered oblique references to both works in the past. WhenZeldadoes come to the screen, it’ll need more than notes from some other beloved movies to succeed. It can, however, take a few lessons. BothPrincess MononokeandThe Two Towersare pretty fluid in their tone. If someone watched a few scenes out of context, they might have a hard time believing they come from the same film.The Legend of Zeldaneeds the same level of variety. It has to play with multiple distinct tones, unlike itsMario-centric sibling from Illumination. Horror is one of the most challenging elements to include, butany true incarnation ofZeldashould have a bit of darkness.
Horror is part ofThe Legend of Zelda’s history
In his excellent video essay, “Every Zelda is the Darkest Zelda,” Jacob Geller puts forth solid arguments for the “darkness” of every notable game in theLegend of Zeldafranchise.Twilight Princesshas its nightmarish Fused Shadow cutscene, featuring a near-biblical murder scene.Ocarina of Timehas its ruined Castle Town, swarmed with ReDeads.Majora’s Maskhas a mountain of horrific elements, starting with the opening cutscene and repeating through every apocalyptic reset. Geller’s thesis isn’t about horror. It’s that the reading ofZeldagames as grim, haunting nightmares is a failure to engage with the art as it is. To focus on the curses and darkness is to exclude the central themes and theses of the story. Violence, terror, and death are not enough to sustain a narrative or establish a work as mature.Zeldatitles aren’t horror games. But they do, almost universally,feature horror elements. There’s a reason for that.
The Legend of Zeldamovie must find both sides ofZelda
In his project pitch forPrincess Mononoke, the great Hayao Miyazaki once said,
We depict hatred, but it is to depict that there are more important things.
We depict a curse, to depict the joy of liberation.
The triumph ofThe Legend of Zeldaoften comes from an exploration of the darkness behind it. Link braves the endless challenges that come with heroism and maintains his courage to the very end. People die,monsters gain power, and the fate of the world is at stake. Through it all, Link still raises his sword. Hyrule can be dark and scary, but that’s just part of the journey. In everyZelda, people band together, find new strength, and, eventually, find the light in the darkness. Without that darkness, the light couldn’t shine as bright.
The Legend of Zeldawill not be a horror film. It’ll be an epic fantasy with a few key action elements. At best, it’ll manage to capture humor, horror, and romance in its broad scope. The impulse fora family-friendly moviewill likely be to eschew the darkness common to old-school Nintendo. Horror is an important part ofZeldagames and the movie should reflect that.
