The Legend Of Zelda Movie Might Be In Development

According to an exclusive report published by Giant Freakin Robot on 6 January 2023, Illumination, the U.S. animation studio behind the popular Despicable Me franchise and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, is reportedly developing an animated film adaptation of the action-adventure video game, The Legend of Zelda.

Unfortunately, it is still too early to gauge what plot The Legend of Zelda movie will be centered on. Likewise, there is no indication regarding the film's cast; however, considering that Link is a silent protagonist, Illumination is unlikely to make a mistake with the character as they did with Chris Pratt's voice as Mario in the Super Mario Bros. Movie. Well, that's if they don't stick to Link's paradoxical characterization.

As pointed out by Giant Freakin Robot, Stranger Things actor Gaten Matarazzo recently suggested that The Legend of Zelda movie should be set in "a vocally silent world," with visuals and music carrying the story. This follows after an earlier cartoon TV series of the video game made in 1980 flopped due to Jonathan Potts' voice as Link.

Interestingly, a live-action adaptation of The Legend of Zelda was rumored to be in development at Netflix in 2015. However, the show was canceled by Nintendo after news of its production was leaked to the press. This cancellation also led to the company pulling the plug on an animated Star Fox movie that College Humor was producing. While Nintendo later revealed plans to extend its "visual content," the company never renewed hope for a Legend of Zelda film adaptation (thanks, Movie Web).

That said, if Illumination goes ahead and produces the film, it would be the first film adaptation of its kind for the franchise. To date, there have been a total of 19 main Legend of Zelda video games released, the first of which was created by Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka in 1986. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, will be the latest entry to the series, releasing for Nintendo Switch on 12 May this year.

Of course, this information should be taken with a grain of salt. Neither Nintendo nor Illumination have released an official statement regarding the supposed The Legend of Zelda film adaptation. In this regard, fans will have to wait for more concrete details or an official announcement from these entities in the future. We will endeavor to keep you updated regarding any further developments.