Nintendo has unveiled the first images from The Legend of Zelda movie. There’s a lot riding on this film. Fans have loved The Legend of Zelda games for decades and everyone wants the movie to be as good as it can be, which isn’t guaranteed given how many bad video game movies have been released over the years. These first-look images, at least, are encouraging. English actors Benjamin Evan Ainsworth and Bo Bragason really do look like Link and Zelda, and the rolling New Zealand wilds behind perfectly evoke the fantasy land of Hyrule.
We have a while to wait before the movie lands in theaters, but Zelda fans are nothing if not detail-oriented. There are lots of little things about the images we can discuss in the meantime.
Zelda’s outfit tells us about where she comes from
The costuming is subtle and believable
Plenty of people have dressed up as Link and Zelda over the decades, and the challenge for The Legend of Zelda costume designer Michell Clapton (who also worked on the major fantasy show Game of Thrones) was to evoke the classic outfits people know from the games without having it look like cosplay. Based on these images, she and her team are nailing it.
Let’s start with Zelda. As a princess of Hyrule, she would have access to the nicest fabrics and the best seamsters and seamstresses. And indeed, her movie outfit is exquisitely put together, with very fine stitching and a lot of detail. If you look closely at the image above, you’ll see that there’s a Triforce pattern on the shoulder of her outfit, evidence that whoever made this garment spent a ton of time on it.
In most of the Zelda games, Zelda herself wears a variety of pink and purple gowns. She’s dressed more casually in these images, like she’s ready to go out on an adventure. Her outfit most closely resembles Zelda’s get-up from 2017’s Breath of the Wild, where Zelda traded in her pink and purple color scheme for blue.
Zelda’s hair also resembles the way it’s done in Breath of the Wild: there’s some braiding up top and it’s loose in the back. That said, it isn’t a one-to-one translation, so we shouldn’t assume that the movie will be a direct adaptation of Breath of the Wild. Link’s outfit further muddies the waters.
Link’s outfit is far less fancy
The contrast sets up their relationship
While Zelda’s outfit looks like it’s professionally made by royal tailors, Link’s looks like it was roughly patched together. The stitching around the collar is very chunky, and there’s no elaborate patterning. Link’s outfit is utilitarian, which makes perfect sense for his character; while Zelda is a princess, Link is generally a commoner who ends up saving or protecting her. Both of their outfits look like they organically belong in this world, rather than like they were both purchased at the same Halloween store.
Looking to the video games, Link’s outfit most recalls the one he wore in 2006’s Twilight Princess: the green of his tunic is muted and he’s wearing vambraces.
That said, there is a touch of Breath of the Wild in the outfit, mainly in the design we can just make out on the front of Link’s tunic. It’s hard to make out exactly what it is, but it recalls the sword design on the front of the Champion’s Tunic from Breath of the Wild.
The mixing and matching of inspirations suggests that this Legend of Zelda movie isn’t going to adapt any one of the video games, but will probably tell an original story that follows the same basic outline. After all, pretty much every game involves Link needing to save Zelda and the land of Hyrule from the villainous Ganon (or Ganondorf, if he hasn’t turned into a giant pig monster yet), with only the details changing. Expect the same thing in the movie.
All about props
Link’s hat is missing…or is it?
There are some iconic items from The Legend of Zelda series not present in these photos. Link doesn’t have the Master Sword, nor does he have a shield. And he’s not wearing his iconic pointed hat. That said, if you look closely by his feet, you’ll see a little green lump in the grass. It’s not confirmed, but that could be Link’s hat. Maybe they’re saving the full reveal for later.
It’s also worth noting that Zelda is walking around with a bow and a quiver full of arrows. Zelda has been known to shoot arrows from time to time, but only in specific circumstances — she shoot light arrows at Ganon in the final battles at the end of both Twilight Princess and 2002’s The Wind Waker — but we generally don’t see her using a bow-and-arrow in day-to-day combat. This Zelda looks like she uses that thing on the regular. That’s one way she differs from the Zelda we met in Breath of the Wild, who was very bookish and not given to combat.
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The Legend of Zelda movie is actually happening
Based on these photos, it looks like The Legend of Zelda movie will follow both Link and Zelda as they roam around Hyrule, rather than follow Link as he tries to rescue a kidnapped Princess Zelda, which is fine; The Legend of Zelda series has a long history, and you can play any number of other Zelda games if you want a variation on that particular story. And if you play all those games and still want more, there are other games like Legend of Zelda out there to enjoy.
It’s hard to understate how popular and beloved these games are, which is why fans are paying such close attention to this movie. Based on these pictures, I think that director Wes Ball is taking things in the right direction, but we won’t know for sure until The Legend of Zelda opens in theaters on May 7, 2027. In the meanwhile, you might want to check out some great fantasy TV shows to help with the wait.
