5 reasons Nintendo should adapt Twilight Princess as the first Legend of Zelda movie

Making a Hollywood blockbuster film is difficult. You have to negotiate contracts with actors and distributors, create a shooting schedule, hand-pick all of your crew, and find decent craft services — all before filming even starts! But even before any of that happens, the director, producers, and writers must decide on the story, and finalize the script.

Nintendo made their Hollywood debut last year with the Super Mario Bros. Movie, and financially it paid off big time. And now that they’ve announced the first-ever Legend of Zelda movie, (with Shigeru Miyamoto & Avi Arad producing, and Wes Ball directing), this begs the question, which Zelda story will they choose to adapt? Will they start with a recognizable all-time classic, such as Ocarina of Time? Or will they choose to write a new, original story that shares its core story beats with the rest of the series, and is undoubtedly full of Easter eggs for fans to spot a la the Super Mario Bros. Movie? There are a lot of options, but if they’re smart (or if they read this article), they’ll realize the best choice is to adapt Twilight Princess as the very first Legend of Zelda movie.

1. It’s Already One of the Most Cinematic Zelda Games

While every 3D Legend of Zelda game is full of cutscenes, Twilight Princess seems to really excel in its cinematic storytelling. So many shots are carefully animated and make great use of framing. Despite this all being with a “virtual camera,” these story moments are still gripping — even almost 20 years later. Anyone who’s played the game will likely remember striking visual moments such as the camera zooming in on Links’s eye as he transforms into a wolf, or the slow motion fall of Zelda’s sword as she surrenders her kingdom, or the excellently creepy montage where Link is shown Hyrule’s history in vision. Even if these moments aren’t re-created one-to-one, you have to admit they would fit perfectly into a big budget retelling of the story.

2. Its Art Style Would Be Visually Stunning

Wes Ball is known for impressive visual effects in his films (which is immediately apparent after viewing the trailer for his latest project, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes), so it’s a safe bet the live-action Zelda film will look fantastic, no matter which game they decide to adapt. That being said, adapting a more classic title could potentially run the risk of looking too similar to any other medieval-inspired fantasy film, and we can be sure the last thing Nintendo would want is being compared to The Lord of the Rings movies. At a glance, Twilight Princess’ Hyrule may not hugely stand out, but if you explore enough of it you’ll realize the game has a strong, unique visual identity. Dimensional tears to the Twilight Realm fill the world with inky black abstract shapes, and bathe the landscape in a yellow, orange-y glow. Just imagine those colors and that lighting all as a stunning backdrop for Zelda’s first-ever live action outing.

3. It’s Got an Excellent Villain – and Not the One You’d Immediately Expect

Any good fantasy epic needs a strong, iconic villain, and Ganondorf absolutely fits the bill — especially if the filmmakers want to maintain Twilight Princess‘ late-game twist. But there’s another villain introduced early on in the story, and he may just be the best candidate to ham up the silver screen.

Picture, if you will, Zant’s first introduction in live-action: the slow walk forward as he comes into view, the gruesome otherworldly monsters on either side of him, followed by a Dutch angle revealing his horrifying mask, and punctuated by a piercing screech in the score. Zant has such a presence to him, such intimidating menace — and when the mask eventually comes off? Things really get wild. Zant is scary and memorable, and more than worthy of being the first Zelda villain to be portrayed in cinema. Mr. Ball, if you want a villain that will leave a lasting impression audiences, Zant’s your man. 

4. Its Soundtrack is 100% Worth Hearing Fully Orchestrated

Anyone familiar with The Legend of Zelda series is fully aware of its legendary musical legacy. There are some great tunes in every title, but Twilight Princess seems especially due for a fully orchestrated soundtrack (…at least, a second time). It’s full of character motifs that could be fully fleshed out in the more dramatic sequences of the film, or quietly slipped in as a reference. With the right composer, Twilight Princess’ movie soundtrack would steal the show. And while a more original score could potentially be good, it would be absolutely criminal not to hear “Midna’s Lament” or the Hyrule Field theme over IMAX speakers.

5. Its Story Already Has Been Adapted – to Resoundingly Great Effect!

Akira Himekawa has taken almost every Zelda title—the ones that barely have a story—and created interesting, faithful, and often humorous story adaptations, but the Twilight Princess manga is something else. Spanning eleven volumes, the manga is epic, dark, and explores characters like Link and Midna in ways we’ve never seen officially done before. They’ve arguably fleshed out Link’s character more than any other piece of media, and (no spoilers) gave him a particular scene that shocked fans the world over. On top of that, many of us have craved a piece of Zelda literature that explores the cyclical reincarnation of Link and Zelda, and this manga does just that.

Admittedly, a manga wouldn’t necessarily work as a direct one-to-one template for a Hollywood blockbuster, but it still serves as a great example of great world building and poignant, character-driven scenes that weren’t in the source material. Akira Himekawa has proven that Twilight Princess’ incredible story works in all kinds of mediums, and Nintendo could absolutely do it justice on the big screen as well.