After the success of Super Mario, Nintendo officially launched the live-action Zelda project. The director of the project took the floor to discuss his vision of the film. What reassures fans?
On November 7, Nintendo confirmed a rumor that had been circulating for a long time: the video game The Legend of Zelda will officially be entitled to its film! After Super Mario, the second most popular license from the Kyoto company will come to life on the big screen to the delight of fans.
However, the latter were relatively circumspect about the artistic choice taken by Big N. By partnering with Sony Pictures, Nintendo is planning a live-action feature film. No Zelda in Miyazaki-style animation as many fans of the video game saga wanted.
This craze was sparked by a certain Matt Vince 7 years ago. The latter had created a fake trailer mixing the world of the famous Japanese filmmaker with that of Zelda. The video, viewed more than 3 million times, was released on the occasion of Nintendo’s announcement of the live-action project. You can watch it below.
Faced with the enthusiasm – but also the concern – of fans, director Wes Ball, in charge of bringing Zelda to the cinema, mentioned Hayao Miyazaki. Asked by Entertainment Weeklythe filmmaker wanted to reassure fans about his vision of the feature film.
I’ve always said I’d love to see a live-action Miyazaki.
Wes Ball wants to do “an incredible fantasy and adventure film that would be different from Lord of the Rings, which would have its own identity”he confided.
“I’ve always said I’d love to see a live-action Miyazaki. I’d love to see something like that, with the wonder and fantasy that he brings to things.”continued the director of Labyrinth and the upcoming Planet of the Apes.
“It’s going to be awesome”Ball then promised. “My whole life has been leading up to this moment. I grew up with Zelda and it’s the most important untapped license, if you will. So we’re working hard to do something.
We’re not trying to do it just because we can. We want to do something really special.”he assured.
Wes Ball is currently developing the Zelda screenplay alongside Derek Connolly (Jurassic World) while working on post-production on Planet of the Apes: New Kingdom (in theaters May 22).
Furthermore, the filmmaker also mentioned one of his tweets dating from 2010 in which he said he dreamed of an Avatar-style adaptation of Zelda.
“Did you see this tweet?”asked Wes Ball to the Entertainment Weekly reporter. “I forgot I did it. Someone dug it up after the Zelda movie was announced and posted it. I was like, ‘oh yeah, cool, that makes sense.’ James Cameron is one of the men I admire most in cinema.”
“He is capable of putting on a great spectacle, but he also always succeeds in constructing his stories in such a way that they are very understandable for the general public. Avatar inspired me to create a short short film, Ruin, which “put me in touch with the people at Fox, who gave me the Labyrinth films. From there, I moved on to Planet of the Apes, then Zelda.”explained Wes Ball.
If Wes Ball manages to concoct a Zelda that would mix the fantasy of Miyazaki’s films and the epic breath of Avatar, it is possible that the film will really live up to the video games. But you will have to be very patient before you can get your idea on the big screen.
However, will the filmmaker’s words be enough to reassure fans? We’ll let you debate it. In the meantime, Planet of the Apes: New Kingdom will arrive in theaters on May 22, 2024.