There was a CG Zelda Movie Being Planned… And Then It Got Canned

"Zelda" teaser from Adam3D on Vimeo.

The Legend of Zelda series has some of the richest lore and narratives across the video games industry. If handled right, it could definitely be made into a stunning blockbuster Hollywood franchise, possibly along the lines of the Lord of the Rings series. Unfortunately, Nintendo, who are fiercely protective of their IPs, and who always go with a ‘gameplay first’ philosophy, hasn’t exactly been receptive to Hollywood about pitches for movie projects based on their games, leading to cancellations of some widely anticipated movies such as one based on Metroid Prime.

Now, Zelda fans, seethe and feel sad, because a movie based on video gaming’s premier franchise was not only totally possible, but also pitched, before the project fell through. It was proposed by American animation studio Imangi Animation back in 2007 as a CG adaptation (which meant the movie would have avoided the disastrous pitfalls of the Super Mario Bros. live action adaptation back in the 1990s). It never went through. But we can still see the pitch, and weep at what might have been.

Would you want to see a Legend of Zelda movie? Would you rather it be CG or live action?