Is The Legend of Zelda the most famous story never to be adapted on film? It’s certainly up there. Nintendo’s hit video game franchise has sold more than 150 million copies across nearly four decades, and includes several of the most acclaimed games ever made. And yet, the forthcoming live-action film – announced on Tuesday by Nintendo – will be the first time the story has been officially adapted for the screen. That doesn’t mean it’s a good idea, though.
It’s clear that Nintendo want to strike while the iron is hot on the video-game movie boom. In the past, video games have long been a quagmire for Hollywood, with the industry’s fundamental inability to adapt them successfully (or particularly profitably) leading to rumours of a “curse”. The past few years, however, have seen several of the biggest titles in gaming strike gold with big-screen adaptations, Sonic the Hedgehog and this year’s Super Mario Bros Movie chief among them. But despite lucrative box office figures – Super Mario Bros sits just behind Barbie as this year’s second-highest grossing film, having made $1.36bn globally – these new films were as creatively arid as ever. Mario is visually bright and breezy, yes, but utterly ramshackle as a story. These were kids’ films, people say, but even kids deserve a bit of nourishment with their iridescent sugar. A Zelda film is sure to be a profitable endeavour. But nourishing is another matter.
