About a month ago, Nintendo announced that a live-action movie adaptation ofย The Legend of Zeldaย is on the way. Following theย Super Mario Bros.ย movieย into a new video game-based movie renaissance, the live-actionย Legend of Zeldaย movie is headed by director Wes Ball and producer Avi Arad. Not much is currently known about the movie, but Ball has confirmed that rather than have it take after classical fantasy films likeย The Lord of the Rings, he’s looking to bring the whimsical style of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki toย The Legend of Zelda’sย live-action adaptation.
Wes Ball Discusses Bringing Hayao Miyazaki’s Style to the Live-Action Zelda Movie

The planned live-action adaptation ofย The Legend of Zeldaย games was announced around one month ago. At the same time, Nintendo also announced that the movie would be directed by Wes Ball, a longtime Zelda fan who’s known for his work on theย Maze Runnerย movies andย Planet of the Apes. While he’s got an impressive rap sheet, Ball’s appointment to theย Zelda movieย raised a lot of eyebrows among the franchise’s fans, many of whom were already on the fence about aย Legend of Zeldaย movie being live-action rather than animation like theย Super Mario Bros.ย movie had been.
In a bit of good news, however, Wes Ball has shared his vision for the Zelda movie. Rather than making it a sprawling fantasy epic in the style ofย The Lord of the Rings, Ball toldย Entertainment Weeklyย that he’s looking to imitate the “whimsical” style of Hayao Miyazaki, an animator whose work includes several Studio Ghibli films.
[The Legend of Zelda movie is] this awesome fantasy-adventure movie that isnโt like Lord of the Rings, itโs its own thing. I’ve always said, I would love to see a live-action Miyazaki. That wonder and whimsy that he brings to things, I would love to see something like that.”
Wes Ball via Entertainment Weekly
In the same interview, Ball stated that his “whole life has led up to this moment” and that he and the creative team behind theย Legend of Zeldaย movie are trying not to do this just because they can, but instead to make something “really special.” As for when we can expect to see the movie, Wes Ball has said thatย The Legend of Zeldaย work will begin in earnest afterย Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, which is currently in post-production, comes out.