‘The Legend of Zelda’ Movie Could Solve Hollywood’s Epic Fantasy Problem

Read Time:3 Minute, 37 Second

Up until today, it’s always felt like a film based on The Legend of Zelda was some far-off, near-impossible task destined to get tossed around Hollywood before disappearing forever like so many video game adaptations before it. But series creator Shigeru Miyamoto himself took to X to announce that this live-action production has found its leads. Actress Bo Bragason will play Princess Zelda, while actor Evan Ainsworth will portray Link.

The film certainly has plenty working against it. From the typical pitfalls of translating player agency and freeform narrative to screen, to more specific challenges like its voiceless protagonist, Nintendo’s adventure series will take some elbow grease to make both fans and newcomers happy. But while overcoming those challenges will determine whether or not this movie hits big, the film has an opportunity to fill a pretty big void in today’s film landscape: the fantasy epic.

The Legend of Zelda is Nintendo’s fantasy epic. The same way the Metroid series scratches fans’ sci-fi itch and Mario’s pantheon of princesses and monsters fills the same family-friendly void of a Disney film, the Zelda series is the company’s version of all the tropes you expect from the genre. Exploring a magical land and taming the evil that threatens it. There are whimsical species that fit neatly into the genre’s universal canon of elves, orcs, and even fish people, all with different cultures and customs. There’s a big wizard that threatens all that is good and holy, and a stoic hero who must overcome impossible trials to save it all from calamity.

While these are all well-understood iconographies of the fantasy epic, there are so few big-budget, tentpole films that follow this tried-and-true storytelling formula. In the era of the superhero, the fantasy genre feels like a distant memory. Save for a few event book adaptations from the 2000s, like The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, and The Lord Of The Rings, or sporadic one-offs like The Green Knight, it seems that interest in the genre has mostly withered away.

The few exceptions that exist lack the sincerity that is sorely missing. Almost all of the best examples from the last five years are either toothless remakes of animated classics, tongue-in-cheek twists on iconic stories, or half-baked allegories that don’t fully commit to the best qualities of the genre. Even on television, where fantasy has fared much better, almost all of these shows lean heavily on dark fantasy, the kind you wouldn’t exactly show your kids.

None of these movies or shows carries the awe-inspiring imagination of Ridley Scott’s 1985 film Legend. Studios wouldn’t be caught dead trying to make a film like Willow or The Dark Crystal a big, tentpole release. Granted, there’s probably a good reason for that, as these films are known to be box office poison. With the exception of Warner Bros’ Game of Thrones, most streaming services have repeatedly divested from the genre.

When’s the last time you’ve seen a movie not based on a book or cartoon lean this hard into fantasy tropes with sincerity?

For this reason, a Zelda film feels like a shining beacon in the distance. Nintendo helped produce one of the most successful animated films of all time. Video game adaptations are all the rage at the moment. If this trend is the Trojan horse that gives audiences the big old fantasy epic they haven’t had in years, then it’s worth figuring out the logistics of bringing the source material to life. Nintendo is striking while the iron is hot, and fantasy fans should be thrilled.

There’s plenty of reason for players to be skeptical of this production. But in my opinion, the promise that comes with a movie version of The Legend of Zelda greatly outweighs what could go wrong. Done well, a Zelda movie could prove that the fantasy epic is worth the blockbuster moniker once more.