With the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, it’s only a matter of time before the next major Nintendo IP hits the big screen. And what better franchise than The Legend of Zelda? It seems that may be a reality, at least according to Hollywood leakster Jeff Sneider. If true, the animated film could answer arguably the most-asked Zelda-related question: What does Link sound like?
Throughout the series’ nearly 40-year history, Link, the game’s protagonist, has remained (mostly) silent, allowing the player to easily project themselves onto the main hero. We’ve seen silent protagonists used in many games before, but it nonetheless is a controversial choice in The Legend of Zelda, especially as the franchise started to include cutscenes and other speaking characters in its recent entries.
“I’m told that Universal is, in fact, closing a ‘big deal’ with the Nintendo corporation for The Legend of Zelda,” Sneider said on The Hot Mic Podcast. “Zelda is looking like the next big Illumination Nintendo franchise.”
As Sneider mentioned, this is something many fans were expecting, but it’s still heartening to hear that it’s seemingly happening. Of course, this hasn’t been confirmed by Nintendo, so it’s important to treat it as a rumor at this point. Sneider didn’t give any indication as to when the animated film could release, but it’ll likely be a couple of years at least.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie was wildly successful, becoming the biggest video game film of all time. While a Super Mario Bros. film was always going to do well, its wonderfully eclectic cast — consisting of Chris Pratt as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, Charlie Day as Luigi, Seth Rogan as Donkey Kong, and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad — certainly broadened the appeal.
A Legend of Zelda film would likely follow suit, with a star-studded cast to give the characters distinct personalities. But what about Link? It’s hard to imagine a feature-length film with a silent protagonist. Sure, it’s possible Link could remain silent for the film’s duration, but that likely won’t be the case. Odds are, Link will be fully voiced by a popular actor, just like The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
If the Mario film is any indication, the cast in the upcoming Zelda movie will likely take some liberties compared to their video game counterparts. Famously, Chris Pratt’s Mario completely ditched the Italian accent, while many of the other characters simply sounded like slightly more exaggerated versions of the actors. So, it’s not totally clear what Link will sound like, but fans already have their wishlist for potential actors.
On Twitter, fans seem to want Tom Holland to voice Link, with other names such as Yuri Lowenthal — and jokes of Chris Pratt once again — appearing as well. Other fans don’t want Link to talk in the film.
Having a silent protagonist in a video game works well since the player is meant to assume the role of the main character. With a film, it’s different, as the viewer is experiencing a story with no interactivity (at least, not in the same way as a video game). If Link does talk, people will be mad. If Link doesn’t talk, people will be mad.
Either way, it will be interesting to see just how Illumination and Nintendo might handle a Zelda film and how it’ll compare to The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
