Summary
The upcomingLegend of Zeldamovie has fans abuzz with speculation, as theZeldaseries itself is incredibly beloved and many are wondering how it will translate to the big screen. Some are speculating about who will be cast in the lead roles, some are wondering which game elements will be brought into the film version, and others are wondering what tone and style this movie is going to be modeled after.
Since not much is known about the film so far, a lot of this is simply guesswork, but recent comments from the director oftheLegend of Zeldalive-action adaptationhave fans speculating about the potential style of the movie once again. TheZeldagames take inspiration from multiple sources across fantasy media, and so it makes sense that those influences would be present in the film version of theZeldastory. But what exactly are these influences, and should the movie be leaning more towards one than another?
What Do We Know About The Legend of Zelda Movie So Far?
According to the small amount of information that has been released by Nintendo so far,The Legend of Zeldascreen adaptationwill be a live-action movie, directed by Wes Ball (who helmedThe Maze Runnerseries and the upcomingKingdom of the Planet of the Apes) and produced byZeldacreator Shigeru Miyamoto. Sony is the distributor of the movie, and Nintendo is also working with producer Avi Arad and screenwriter Derek Connolly.
Director Wes Ball has also given some hints about the potential style that the movie might be going for.In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ball said that thoughZeldais a fantasy adventure, he doesn’t picture his film being a giant epic likeLord of the Rings, and would rather take inspiration from Studio Ghibli instead. Ball stated,
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 also mentioned that they’re in the early stages of developing a script right now, so the movie release will still likely be a long way off. However, with this hint towards what direction the creative team wants to take the visual style and storytelling in, it has a lot of fans wondering which style would suit theZeldauniverse more:Lord of the Ringsepic high fantasy, or a more whimsical, Ghibli-like approach?
Is The Legend of Zelda More Like LOTR or Ghibli?
When fans compareThe Legend of Zeldato other popular media, they tend to gravitate towardsLord of the Ringsand Ghibli, asZelda’s combination of magic and fantasy is similar to both. While these aren’t the only two fantasy or fantasy-adjacent pieces of media that exist, they are some of the most popular, especially among the types of people who are fans ofZelda, as they tend to also enjoy these other stories. There’s a good reason for this comparison too, as it is well-known thatThe Legend of Zeldadirectly takes inspiration from bothLOTRand Ghibli.
The Zelda Games Were Influenced by LOTR…
As with most things in the fantasy genre that came out afterThe Lord of the Ringswas published,The Legend of Zeldagames wereinspired by Tolkien’s Middle-earth. While creator Shigeru Miyamoto mainly took inspiration from his own childhood adventures as well as Arthurian legend with the firstZeldagame, later entries in the series - particularly once the games started becoming 3D - began to use a lot of the tropes found inLOTR.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princesstakes a lot of inspiration fromtheLord of the Ringsfilms, as they were somewhat new releases when the game was in development. Nintendo wanted to create a more realistic-lookingZeldagame, and create a fantasy epic that was much more in the style ofLord of the Rings, with darker and more grounded fantasy elements rather than the more bright and colorful palette they had been known for in the past. While most pieces of fantasy media take their tropes from Tolkien’s work,Twilight Princesswas the oneZeldagame that was officially confirmed to be directly inspired by theLOTRfilms.
…But The Animation Style Reminds Many of Studio Ghibli
WhileTwilight Princessis more reminiscent of darker, more serious fantasy, the animation style of otherZeldagames makes a lot of fans think of Studio Ghibli movies. While Ghibli movies can be dark, they’re most known for their sense of wonder and whimsy, which comes into play more inZeldagames likeThe Wind WakerorSkyward Sword. However, it wasn’t until more recently that Nintendo would take more direct inspiration from Ghibli in theZeldagames.
The two most recent entries in theZeldacanon -Breath of the WildandTears of the Kingdom- are heavily inspired by the environments of Studio Ghibli, particularlythe world ofPrincess Mononoke. Not only are there stylistic similarities between these stories, in terms of art style, but there are a lot of thematic similarities as well.Breath of the WildintroducedZeldafans to a new Hyrule, one that was in ruins and slowly being overtaken by the natural world.
This reflects the emphasis thatPrincess Mononokeand Studio Ghibli as a whole put on the natural world. The Lord of the Mountain on Mount Satori inBreath of the Wildappears to be a direct reference to the Forest Spirit fromPrincess Mononoke, both in concept and design. It’s clear that Ghibli was a huge influence for these newestZeldagames, which is important as they have been incredibly popular and introduced a whole new audience to the franchise.
The Legend of Zelda Movie Should Combine Elements of LOTR and Ghibli Films
When it comes to the question of which franchise Nintendo should be pulling from in terms of inspiration when it comes to making the live-actionLegend of Zeldamovie, the answer is…both. Since bothThe Lord of the Ringsand Studio Ghibli have been so influential in shaping the style and format of theZeldaseries, it makes sense to really combine those elements to make the most of the film.
Depending onwhich game the movie wants to adapt or take inspiration from, if any, the influence of eitherLOTRor Ghibli will be felt more strongly. If they’re basing the style off of that ofBreath of the Wild, then the film will likely feel more Ghibli-adjacent. However, if they’re modeling the story off of that of the older games in the series, it will probably feel more likeLOTR. While the director seems to want to take the film more in the Ghibli direction, that’s hard to achieve in a live-action film, as so much of Ghibli’s charm comes from the animation.
This doesn’t mean they can’t still take elements from Ghibli films and fit them in, because they absolutely can, but thatLord of the Ringsinspiration is going to be really important when it comes to adapting the games. If they can find a way to tell an epic fantasy story in the vein ofLOTRwhile still retaining that Ghibli style and environmental messaging that madeBreath of the WildandTears of the Kingdomstand out so much from previous games, they may actually be able to pull offa successfulLegend of Zeldaadaptation.
