Summary
TheLegend of Zeldalive-action movie seems to be well underway, but if Wes Ball wants the adaptation to resonate with audiences, it should probably avoid one majorUnchartedpitfall. Ruben Fleischer, director ofVenomandZombieland, took the lead on the 2022 live-action adaptation of the popular Naughty Dog franchise, which stars Tom Holland as famed treasure hunter Nathan Drake. While casting Tom Holland seemed like a good idea at the time, it turned out to be a blunder that Ball wouldn’t want to replicate withThe Legend of Zelda.
TheUnchartedfilm had been in development for several years, since before 2009, when Nathan Fillion was approached with the possibility of starring as Nathan Drake. The same can be said forthe development of theUnchartedgame, which also took a long time. While Fillion never fulfilled the role in Hollywood, he did get to star as Drake in a fan-made short film, which received positive reactions. Mark Wahlberg, Chris Pratt, and Jamie Dornan were all considered for the role of Nathan Drake, but in the end, Tom Holland was cast as a young Nathan Drake, while the film served as a prequel to the games and chronicled Drake’s origin story.
But casting Tom Holland may have ruined the movie’s chance to take a place amongthe best video game adaptations, such as theSonic the Hedgehogfranchise,The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and theResident Evilsaga. At the time of the movie’s release, Holland was 25 years old, whereas Wahlberg, Pratt, and Dornan were 51, 43, and 39, respectively. That’s a pretty big age gap, even between the 25-year-old Holland and 39-year-old Dornan. InUncharted 4, the game which the movie was based on, Nathan Drake was 38 years old, which is much closer to someone like Dornan or Pratt than Holland.
Potential Legend of Zelda Live-Action Fan Cast Without Focus On Star Power
At the time, Holland had just starred as Spider-Man in Marvel’sSpider-Man: No Way Home, which is the third highest-grossing Marvel movie of all time, afterAvengers: EndgameandAvengers: Infinity War. It makes total sense for Sony to want to capitalize on Holland’s fame, but it turned out that perhaps he wasn’t the right fit to fill Nathan’s shoes. If Ball wants to avoid the lukewarm reaction thatUnchartedreceived, thenThe Legend of Zeldashould refrain from casting based on star poweralone.
Right now,The Legend of Zeldahas no official cast. However, the internet has tossed around a few potential names for both Link and Princess Zelda. Thomas Brodie-Sangster seems to be receiving the majority vote for Link. Brodie-Sangster and director Wes Ball worked together previously on theMaze Runnerfranchise, so that seems to be a match made in heaven. Princess Zelda is a little trickier, butthere are several potential candidates to play her, such asMidsommar’s Florence Pugh,Euphoriastar Hunter Schafer, andMaleficent’s Elle Fanning. While Pugh is more of a mainstream choice, both Schafer and Fanning could fit the part just as well.
Wes Ball Determined To Make Legend of Zelda a Love Letter to Fans
Back in March, Wes Ball outlined his vision for theLegend of Zeldamovie, stating thathe wanted to produce a “serious” adaptationthat felt “real” to audiences, especially as a fan ofThe Legend of Zeldafranchise himself. Ball recently worked onKingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the fourth installment in the reboot of thePlanet of the Apesfranchise, and in an interview withTotal Film, Ball reassured fans that he knows how important the franchise is to them, so he’s made it his duty to do it justice. “I want to fulfil people’s greatest desires. I know it’s important, this [Zelda] franchise, to people, and I want it to be a serious movie. A real movie that can give people an escape,” Ball said.
While Tom Holland’s performance as Nathan Drake inUnchartedreceived praise from critics, audiences were in agreement that Holland didn’t fit the character of Nathan Drake well enough for their liking. In aReddit thread, many Redditors agreed that while Holland wasn’t perfectly cast, his acting prowess was certainly not to blame. In fact, it was a poorly written story and the casting of Sully, Drake’s father figure and mentor, that killed the magic ofUnchartedfor many viewers. Coincidentally, it was Mark Wahlberg who portrayed Sully. Nathan Fillion’s name was mentioned further down the thread, as he would make the perfect “older” Nathan Drake, according to someUnchartedfans.
So long asThe Legend of Zeldasteers away from purely trendy names in the hunt for the perfect Link and Zelda, it might just succeed whereUnchartedfailed. If the opinions of the audience are to be taken into consideration,The Legend of Zeldamovie could become the nextSuper Mario Bros. Movie. If Ball is truly making a movie by fans for fans,the casting choices will decide the directionthe newLegend of Zeldamovie is going to take, be it a love letter to the community or another cash grab for Hollywood.
