A Zelda Movie

I have blogged over at a awesome gaming site called GameTrailers a number of times and this is one of the blogs I wrote, the subject of which should be pretty obvious:

Yep, it’s been muttered about on gaming forums and suchlike for years and many think it would simply disgrace the series in its transition to the big screen, but I plan on undertaking the writing of an entire Zelda movie script. Whether it happens not is an entirely different proposition! So where exactly do I begin? With some of the movie logistics methinks and most importantly of all would be: should Link speak? Despite causing an inevitable backlash within the Zelda community I think inevitably that Link would have to speak. Having him not would limit the emotional attachment greatly between the audience and the character. So yeah, Link will speak.

I also believe that this movie should be the beginning – no back story a la Wind Waker of how there was a Hero of Time in the past, this Link is going to be THE Hero of Time. Despite this I don’t want to take it back to the timeline’s roots, most widely considered to be The Minish Cap, I want the film to primarily combine elements from A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time, often looked upon as the most recognised and iconic games in the series. So where would my inspiration for this script lie? Aside, obviously, with the games, it has to be The Lord of The Rings trilogy of films by Peter Jackson. The fantasy setting and characters bare an obvious resemblance to the Zelda mythos. For example, for the films opening I’m going to have a voice-over (perhaps of the Deku Tree?) telling the story of the creation of Hyrule and the Triforce by the three goddesses and then have a short scene of a huge battle between good and evil in the fight for the Triforce at the end of which Ganon(dorf) gets trapped inside the Golden Realm. Much like the “trapping” of Sauron within the Ring of Power, or at least his power anyway.

The film is going to primarily consist of two timelines – the War of Hyrule and Link’s adventures in his attempt to destroy Ganon and rescue the Triforce. The timelines will crossover with Link becoming involved with the ongoing war, which will somehow assist him in his ultimate battle against Ganondorf. There will also be relationships between him and Zelda and him and Navi, the former possibly forming into love and the latter more like a tight bond of friendship – like Sam and Frodo’s. So that’s a lot of emotional involvement. My other characters? Possibly the King of Hyrule, who’s leading the charge against Ganon’s forces in the War. Saria again possibly. I want the film to begin (after the prologue) in the Kokiri Forest so giving Link friends there will make his departure more heartfelt, like Nintendo tried to capture in Ocarina. The Deku Tree is another obvious one, the Gandalf-esque character of the film. I think I’ll probably keep him alive though or perhaps kill him towards the end in which the dark and evil forces of Ganon enter the beautiful and serene world of Korkiri.

As I’ve mentioned, I want to begin the film in Kokiri Forest like it does in Ocarina, but I think possibly having Link hear Zelda’s voice in his head like he does in A Link To The Past combined with the nightmares he experiences in Ocarina, which sets him out on his adventure. We could have scenes involving him in his laidback lifestyle with his friends in Kokiri, which ultimately climaxes in his meeting with the Deku Tree who vaguely explains the nightmares and voices to him and that he must rescue Zelda from the dungeon beneath Hyrule Castle where she is being held captive as a prisoner, possibly due to Agahnim controlling the mind of the King of Hyrule. So Link begins his quest, with Navi along with him – the Deku Tree introduces them both – and sets out form Kokiri Forest to save the world of Hyrule!

And that’s as far as my brain has got! So what do people think? It obviously still needs hours and hours of work, but that’s all that has come to mind thus far. I want to try and do loads of research and idea development before I even begin to start thinking about how it can all come together and be written as a script.

So, feed me your ideas and film scenarios and I’ll see what I can come up with!

Since writing this I haven’t had much chance to develop my ideas into a cohesive story due to other commitments, but it’s definitely something that I would like to continue working on in the future