The Legend of Zelda is finally getting a movie, though anticipation for it may be determined by the reception to the latest Planet of the Apes.
SUMMARY
- The director of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is also making the Zelda movie.
- Both movies may share thematic and directing elements, building hype for Zelda through Apes.
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes also presents the opportunity for Wes Ball to show directorial skill beyond the Maze Runner movies.
The recently announced movie adaptation of The Legend of Zelda has already made the movie wildly anticipated, especially with the seeming trend toward video game adaptations. The movie is set to be directed by Wes Ball, and unlike The Super Mario Bros. Movie, it will be live-action. This puts even more pressure on the project to get things right, though one completely unrelated movie may fuel its fire of excitement.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the next entry in the Planet of the Apes franchise, picking up from the series' last movie from 2017. The movie also has a lot of eyes on it, as it has big shoes to fill compared to what came before. Also directed by Wes Ball, the movie can give audiences a glimpse of what's to come from the filmmaker's Nintendo game adaptation.
Wes Ball is Directing Two Highly-Anticipated Movies
As mentioned, Wes Ball is the filmmaker for The Legend of Zelda, which brings the magic and adventure of the Nintendo series to life on the big screen. Following the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, many moviegoers expected that other popular Nintendo franchises were set to get similar adaptations. Beyond the Mario franchise, Zelda is easily Nintendo's next big franchise.
In fact, titles such as The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are actually bigger killer app "system sellers" for Nintendo hardware than the contemporary Mario games for that particular gaming generation.
Zelda games are also far more cinematic than the adventures of Nintendo's plumber siblings, which makes the franchise easier to translate into a movie. When combined with the success of Mario's animated movie and the popularity of Zelda as a whole, it's no surprise that the recently confirmed movie is already hotly-anticipated.
With the current trend in Hollywood to properly adapt video games into worthy movies and TV shows, plus Nintendo's own tight creative grip, the Wes Ball movie is sure to do right by fans and audiences.
Wes Ball's other major upcoming blockbuster is Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Set long after the events of Matt Reeves' War for the Planet of the Apes, the movie continues the reboot series that began in Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Those movies -- especially the latter two -- were lauded as some of the best examples of franchise reboots, not to mention their incredible special effects.
The trailer for the new Planet of the Apes movie has already impressed many, increasing the hype for what was a project that only movie buffs knew about. Given how acclaimed its predecessors were, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will have to be worthy of the legacy of the franchise. Ironically, it might also showcase some of the things that fans will see in The Legend of Zelda.
Cornelius Returns In Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes Trailer Teaser
Though they're completely different franchises and seemingly have nothing in common, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and The Legend of Zelda may share similar elements due to their scope and Wes Ball's direction.
The first trailer for the former shows the protagonist ape Noa on horseback on what may be some sort of quest across the eponymous Planet of the Apes. This similar sense of adventure will definitely be felt in The Legend of Zelda, as it's a series that's all about exploration.
Conversely, the 3D games in the series (starting with Nintendo 64 title The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time) frequently feature protagonist Link riding on horseback, with his most notable steed being a horse named Epona (named after a Celtic goddess who was known to protect horses).
One trait that Link is known for in most of the games is the fact that he's a silent protagonist. That may not be the case in the Zelda movie, but an acceptable in-between would be for Link to speak as little as possible in the movie and to simply emote physically. This is something that he'll likely share with many of the apes seen in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
Though the movie is set long after the death of Caesar in War for the Planet of the Apes, it seems that its events are still a good bit away from what's seen in the classic Planet of the Apes movies. There, the apes spoke with ease and were more humanoid. They still lack that more evolved appearance in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, suggesting that they'll only speak somewhat or in "animalistic" ways.
The movie's antagonist is Proximus Caesar, an intelligent chimpanzee who's seemingly named himself after the first ape leader, Caesar. Despite his intellect and cunning, he inverts the behavior of Caesar and tries to lord his power over those he encounters.
Creating an almost cult-like following, the previews for the movie give a darkly religious vibe to the character. This makes sense given that he perverts the teachings of the former "ape messiah." In a way, this can be compared to the villainous Ganondorf, the main villain of the Zelda franchise. A dark wizard who hails from the Gerudo people, he commonly transforms into a vicious swine beast known as Ganon in his quest for power.
Divergent Author Calls Film Franchise Complete Despite Shelved Fourth Film
Currently, there's a lot of anticipation as to how The Legend of Zelda will ultimately unfold. Of course, that also comes with skepticism, especially given how iconic the franchise is. While it's true that Illumination's The Super Mario Bros. Movie was a very good adaptation of the gaming series, it was also a fairly goofy comedy that's arguably a lot easier to "get right" compared to a more serious fantasy adventure.
Conversely, there simply isn't much story in the main Mario games, allowing more leeway for the creators behind that project. Likewise, it was an animated movie, meaning that it was far easier to translate the material than if it was a live-action project. This can be seen by comparing it to the infamous live-action Super Mario Bros. movie.
Given that it's a much different project, The Legend of Zelda will also be more challenging to get right. Thus, fans will likely have higher standards for the movie and a greater sense of skepticism before it finally comes out. This isn't unwarranted, as live-action video game adaptations do not have an incredible track record.
Plus, something like The Legend of Zelda will have all manner of fantastic creatures and concepts for the fantasy world of Hyrule. Needless to say, it's a tall order to truly do justice to, and it will take a lot to convince some fans that the project is more than simply a cash grab or a fool's errand.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will thus act as the biggest test of whether fans truly give Wes Ball a chance with The Legend of Zelda. It's also part of an existing franchise with great expectations, so seeing how Ball handles one project will determine if he's truly worthy of helming the other. Beforehand, Wes Ball's biggest movies were the Maze Runner adaptations, which came out during the height of 2010s Young Adult novel adaptations.
These movies received decreasing reception, but even critics agreed that it was Ball's direction that made them as good as they were. While they never achieved the same success as movies such as The Hunger Games, they were still successful in their own right and fared far better than the Divergent movie series.
Both Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and The Legend of Zelda will allow Ball to create a new filmmaking legacy, namely with stronger material. Not only will succeeding with the former prove that he's more than just "the Maze Runner guy," but it will also segue into increased hopes for The Legend of Zelda. Hopefully, both movies turn out great for fans of their respective franchises, with Zelda's success proving that even classic video games can be made into good movies.
Before fans give him a chance to bring Hyrule to life, however, Wes Ball will first have to run through a new maze and deliver an astonishing tour of the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
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