The Legend of Zelda has been a worldwide success since its release in 1986. After decades of providing fans with the most elite gaming experience, and innumerable additions, the franchise is finally receiving its first live-action movie adaptation.
Wes Ball, the acclaimed director behind the Maze Runner film trilogy as well as Kingdom of the Planet of Apes (2024), has been provided the opportunity to direct the upcoming Zelda movie.
Live-Action Legend of Zelda Director Wishes for a Studio Ghibli Influence
News of the new live-action movie for The Legend of Zelda is out, and fans could not be more eager to find out the details. Unfortunately for you, not many details have been revealed for the movie and Nintendo is keeping its mouth shut regarding any detail.
An interview with Wes Ball, the director of the upcoming movie, might satisfy you with some information on the new adaptation. The director admitted that Nintendo has sworn him to secrecy, but he did talk about his own aspirations for the film.
Wes Ball has been a huge fan of The Legend of Zelda as well as an avid admirer of Hayao Miyazaki’s movies by Studio Ghibli. The director expressed his wish to combine both of his loved subjects into one single project. According to the director, the upcoming adaptation is:
This awesome fantasy-adventure movie that isn’t like Lord of the Rings, it’s its own thing. 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 promises that the movie will be awesome. He claims that his whole life has led to this moment. The director grew up on Zelda and considers it an untapped IP. Ball has been dreaming of this project his entire life and even talked about it way back in 2010. In a tweet, Ball wrote:
The tweet was dug up after the movie was announced, and it shows how fate aligned for Wes Ball.
Hayao Miyazaki’s Own Legend of Zelda
The idea of Studio Ghibli being involved with a live-action is exciting, but at the same time, it is something that has never been attempted before. The whimsy created by Ghibli has been exclusive to animation movies so far, and it is doubtful if the studio will venture out. But that doesn’t mean Ghibli doesn’t have its own version of The Legend of Zelda.
The main plot of Zelda focuses on Link, a courageous elfish man, and the magical Princess Zelda who has to fight to save the world from evil influences. While Studio Ghibli can’t offer the elfish man and many other features of the game, it can offer a gentleman like Ashitaka, who finds the fierce Princess Mononoke. He becomes tangled in a struggle between the providing Gods of a forest and the endless need of humans.
In fact, Princess Mononoke also inspired the 2023 game, Tears of the Kingdom, the latest addition to the Zelda franchise. In it, Link has a distressed magical arm, quite similar to Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke.
But if there’s one thing that’s for sure, it’s the fact that a live-action Ghibli movie might hit the Academy Awards floor. Both Spirited Away and The Boy and the Heron have won the Oscars for Best Animated Feature Film. Maybe The Legend of Zelda is the next milestone that Studio Ghibli needs.
You can play The Legend of Zelda on Nintendo Switch and Princess Mononoke is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
