Summary
Last week, Nintendo announced the jaw-dropping news that the company would be teaming up with Sony to adapt a live-action version ofThe Legend of Zelda. The initialannouncement of a live-actionZeldamovieleft many fans speechless, and now the community is swirling with speculation about what the movie could entail.
One of the most shocking details of the movie’s announcement was that it’s intended to be live-action. With the recent success of theMariomovie, it would be expected that Nintendo would continue producing animated adaptations. A live-action version ofThe Legend ofZeldacould change the franchise in a vital way, especially when it comes to Link. There have already beenfan casts of the titular Zelda, but when addressing protagonist Link, the movie could make a major change to the iconic character that will undoubtedly be divisive.
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A Zelda Movie Might Struggle With Link’s Biggest Personality Trait
One of the biggest hurdles for a live-action version ofThe Legend of Zeldawill be its treatment of Link. A major part of Link’s personality is his complete lack of dialogue in games. Link is the blueprint for the silent protagonist, and a live-action movie based on a franchise that is known for a quiet hero needs to handle this detail with care. Link’s silence is arguably one of his most defining features, and the live-action movie choosing to give him dialogue will be incredibly divisive among the fans.
Whether Link will talk or not is one of the biggest questions that should be asked regarding the film adaptation. On the one hand, it would be much easier to help a story progress with a main character who can speak in order to move the plot forward, but on the other hand, making Link talk would be a major step away from the games.This year’sMariomoviemade the choice to have Mario say more than just his usual catchphrases, and although that worked for some viewers, doing the same with Link would be far more controversial since Link’s only vocalizations are heard via grunting.
Silence is an essential part of Link’s character, but that also makes it difficult for him to interact with other characters in a movie. Sometimes what works well in a video game doesn’t translate as well to a film. Keeping the main hero silent could be off-putting to some viewers, especially if they’re watching the movie with no prior knowledge ofThe Legend of Zeldafranchise. However, just because writing a silent protagonist in a movie could be difficult doesn’t mean it’s not worth the attempt, and there areseveral great films starring a voiceless main characterthat this live-action adaptation could use as inspiration.
Nintendo and Sony’s planned adaptation may benefit from the challenge of makingThe Legend of Zeldamovie as accurate to the games as possible.Keeping Link silent would be a bold movethat would not only make many fans happy, but could also allow the movie to use Link’s silence as a catalyst for some fun humor. Watching Link attempting to interact with characters while refusing to speak could also create great comedic breaks within the film’s story. It’s almost scary thinking of what aZeldastory would be like with Link talking. Even if the live-adaptation opts to have him speak, keeping the dialogue as minimal as possible would be far better than a version of Link who constantly talks. It would just feel wrong. Adapting such a beloved franchise is tricky to navigate, but honoring the source material as much as possible could make a live-actionZeldamovie a success.
