Legend of Zelda film reportedly in the works, Universal closing "big deal" with Nintendo
So, let's get fan casting.
Hot off the heels of the Super Mario Bros. Movie's success, it looks like another Nintendo IP could be making the transition to the big screen.
According to well-informed film critic Jeff Sneider, Universal and Illumination are close to closing a "big deal" with Nintendo to adapt the Legend of Zelda.
Stating he doesn't believe this news to be a huge surprise, Sneider told The Hot Mic Podcast "Zelda is looking like the next big Illumination x Nintendo franchise".
This adaption clearly won't come cheap, however, with Sneider stating its "going to cost Universal a pretty penny". This is something the critic attributed to the success of the Super Mario Bros. Movie (which is now the biggest video game adaptation ever, and the highest grossing movie this year so far).
"Nintendo kind of knows its worth at this point, but yeah, I'm told that is now going to be a reality," he elaborated.
So, who would we cast as The Legend of Zelda's movie counterparts? The internet has had some ideas, with my favourite so far imagining a Goron voiced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson with a Queen soundtrack.
>Goron (voiced by Dwayne Johnson)
— Triple-Q (@TripleKyun) June 8, 2023
>"Welcome.... to Goron City!"
>Link looks around in awe, as all the Gorons are mining to the rhythm of Queen's "We Will Rock You"
>"Woahh.... what is this place?"
>montage continues. A Goron falls in the mud
>🎵MUD ON YOUR FACE, YA BIG DISGRACE🎵 https://t.co/twuDYUXoT7
Another has suggested Adam Sandler as Ganon, with Tom Holland as Link (although, in my opinion, Link should remain silent).
Gannon (voice by Adam Sandler): “I finally have it the Triforce of Power, now who’s gonna stop me!”
— (Not) YoutubeKids (@RealYouTubeKids) June 8, 2023
Mash cut to link (voiced by Tom Holland), in modern day LA, wearing a lime green t-shirt and brown cargo pants: “erm, excuse me princess!” https://t.co/ZP5yyVKIaW
We had a lot of fun mulling over ideas for other characters during our news chat this morning, with Tom giving a top notch suggestion of Aquaman's Jason Momoa as the beloved Zora, Prince Sidon. He is involved with the upcoming Minecraft adaptation, after all, so we already know he is game for video game adaptations.
Meanwhile, Ed brilliantly cast Charlie Day - who voices Luigi in The Super Mario Bros. Movie - as Tingle. He even sang a little bit of "Sexy Boy", imagining this as Tingle's hypothetical soundtrack. You know what, I can see it.
For Princess Zelda herself, I wouldn't want her to be as sugary sweet sounding as Anya Taylor-Joy's Peach, so I am going to throw Florence Pugh and Jodie Turner-Smith's names into the ring. Princess Zelda needs to be self- assured.
Tom also joked about having Chris Pratt as Link, but I chose to ignore him.
Last month, Eiji Aonuma and Hidemaro Fujibayashi - Tears of the Kingdom's producer and director respectively - confirmed that they are also "interested" in the idea of Legend of Zelda movie adaptation.
However, at this time, Aonuma added the caveat: "It's not just me being interested in something that makes things happen, unfortunately."