In a recent interview with Video Games Chronicle, Takaya Imamura, the creator of Tingle, stated that Masi Oki would be his pick to play the legendary fairy if he were to appear in the upcoming live-action movie adaptation of the Zelda franchise.
Because of course, the most important character in the Zelda series and therefore the most important character in the movie, is Tingle without question. The plucky character first appeared in Majora’s Mask and has reappeared in multiple Zelda games since. He even starred in his own game Freshly Picked Tingle’s Rosy Ruppeeland, exclusive to Japan. Picking an actor to debut Tingle’s magic words on the silver screen is no easy feat. Thankfully, the man who knows the map-making fairy the best has not remained quiet on the matter.
While not on the radar of most fan casting, Masi Oki is known for his work on the American TV drama Heroes where he caught the attention of the father of Tingle. Imamura particularly liked the way Oki’s character on the show would say “yatta!!”
“…the Zelda movie has been announced, so I’m really curious as to whether Tingle is going to be in that or not. From my perspective, I would really love him to appear. Masi Oka [should play Tingle], you know the TV series Heroes? The Japanese character who goes ‘yatta!’, I’d like him to do it.” – Takaya Imamura
As Imamura himself stated, it is still up in the air if the production crew behind the movie will even attempt to adapt Zelda‘s most complex character, but all fans are with him in the desire to see Tingle and his endless charm on the big screen.
