Nintendo is teaming up with Sony to adapt The Legend of Zelda, and with the movie not hitting theaters until 2027 at the earliest, we're still relatively in the dark about a lot of the details. Fortunately, we now may have some idea of what game will be adapted for the big screen, thanks to some leaked footage from the movie's recent shoots in New Zealand.
A TikTok user recently spied on the filming of the upcoming video game adaptation, and as someone who has been a fan of the Nintendo franchise my entire life, the costumes really stood out. It looks like we have an idea of what storyline we'll see The Legend of Zelda cover, and I'm pretty psyched about it.
Zelda's Costume In The Legend Of Zelda Suggests The Movie Is Adapting The Breath Of The Wild's Timeline
The footage showed a brief look at actress Bo Bragason, who wore a blue tunic, tights, and a satchel. To me, it looked just like the outfits she's worn in the Breath of the Wild games, which take place thousands of years after the previous games.
The Legend of Zelda timeline is complicated, with most of the games falling under one of three distinct timelines: The Fallen Hero, The Child, and The Adult. Explaining them in depth is unnecessary, mainly because the Breath of the Wild games take place way into the future, and it's still unknown if it's connected to some of those games, all of those games, or maybe none of them.
What we do know is that the world of Breath of the Wild is very different than other games in The Legend of Zelda. The land of Hyrule is much more sparse and isn't densely populated. The game itself also grants the player a lot of narrative freedom, allowing them to complete the game in any order they wish.
I would consider this a positive for the Nintendo movie, as it'd give director Wes Ball and other creatives a bit more freedom in how to shape the story while still honoring the source material. That may sound weird, but I'd much prefer to see a story incorporate elements from the Zelda games rather than have him do a one-for-one walkthrough of a game like Twilight Princess or Ocarina of Time.
Link Is Sporting His Traditional Green Tunic
For those about to raise their pitchforks, don't worry. In the footage we saw, Link is wearing his traditional green tunic, and not the "Champion's Tunic," commonly seen in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. I'm sure gamers would've revolted if he didn't have on his classic green look.
Nintendo is likely hoping The Legend of Zelda will take off like The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which is launching its sequel in 2026. Ultimately, there are a couple of generations of adults who were raised on these iconic franchises, which likely played a role in the Mario movie being a billion-dollar box office hit. I can't help but feel there will be a lot of pressure on the Zelda movie to have the same sort of return for Sony, and we'll see if it can rise to the occasion.
I think there are gamers rooting for it, especially those who dream of Nintendo potentially creating its own shared universe and making a rumored Super Smash Bros. movie. These are the types of things I remember sounded like a dream when I was younger, so now that it's on the way, I'm really hoping we get to see Nintendo thrive in Hollywood.
