Dawn of a New Year – 2026

While it's technically just a change in date, there is something magical about looking forward to another year and what exciting things it may bring for your hobbies and passions, like The Legend of Zelda. And with the 40th Anniversary taking place from February 21st onward, there will certainly be something to talk about.

 

Expanding Worlds

The year starts with a small collaboration between The Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The 3.0.0 update for the game will launch on January 15th, in exactly two weeks, and contain a number of new features, including new amiibo-induced crossovers.

You will be able to obtain outfits, items and furniture based on the Zelda series, as well as two new villagers: Tulin and Mineru from Tears of the Kingdom. Sadly, the Zelda-themed villagers from New Leaf are not returning for this, but it's still better than nothing and will allow Zelda fans to make their islands feel a lot more special.

In general, updates and expansions like this one could become a strong point of interest in 2026. For example, Hollow Knight: Silksong will get its first free expansion, Sea of Sorrow. And it's possible that Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment may get further DLC. There are no shared plans so far, but there is certainly demand for playable Ganondorf and Sonia, where Koei Tecmo may follow up on that. It wouldn't be the first time.

Another game that sees a lot of demand for DLC is Mario Kart World. 200cc, more costumes, the Koopalings, or contents based on Donkey Kong Bananza are what first comes to mind, but for a major expansion they could return to the crossovers with other Nintendo franchises. Bring back Link and the Master Cycle (Zero), introduce Zelda as a driver, and have an island that represents Hyrule. And Samus is practically begging to make a guest appearance in Mario Kart with her newest toy, Vi-O-La.

 

40th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda

Super Mario Bros. was celebrating its 40th Anniversary last year, which was mainly used to advertise the upcoming Super Mario Galaxy Movie, where at the forefront was a two-in-one "port" of Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 for the Nintendo Switch.

Well, there is also a Zelda movie coming up, but it won't be part of the anniversary, since it's scheduled to launch in theaters on May 7th next year. Still, they will get the ball rolling this year and in the very least present us with a first trailer, while potentially using the anniversary to create some hype.

But a glimpse is also the best what we can hope for when it comes to a new Zelda game. The latest installments, Tears of the Kingdom (2023) and Echoes of Wisdom (2024) are still too recent for anything to be even close to finished. The next 3D Zelda game should be right in the middle of its development, where maybe Nintendo will present us a first teaser trailer.

So, we should not expect another 25th Anniversary, which was huge and revolved around the launch of Skyward Sword. The 30th and 35th anniversaries didn't coincide with a new Zelda game and therefore haven't brought much on the table (only some amiibo, an artbook, and a Game & Watch system).

Maybe this will repeat here. Or maybe they have something else in store, where the likeliest candidate is another remake. And you may already know where this is heading, since the rumor mills have been running for a while: Ocarina of Time.

It simply makes sense. They have remade or remastered all 3D Zelda games at least once, where now they can start it all over again. And this could also get fans of traditional Zelda excited for both the Nintendo Switch 2 and the movie.

If this is really a thing, the only question is who has been working on such a remake. The folks at Tantalus, the developers of Twilight Princess HD and Skyward Sword HD, are good with ports and texture updates, but not necessarily remakes. And the folks at GREZZO, who had developed Ocarina of Time 3D, have effectively taken over the top-down Zelda branch.

Speaking of, instead of Ocarina of Time, we could also be looking at a remake of Oracle of Ages & Seasons. This could have been developed in parallel to Echoes of Wisdom, where there are even some indications that this might have been the case, or at least that they were remaking the Oracle games at some point. The accessory system was clearly based on the Magic Rings and the return of Smog as a classic boss was rather curious... Make out of that what you will.

Alternatively, we could be looking at something else entirely, like a Shrine Maker based on Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. They have already been pushing both games with the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, where they got the first Nintendo Switch 2 Editions, and such a project could be the next step. However, it probably wouldn't be an official part of the 40th Anniversary.

In any case, they could release a 40th Anniversary Edition of the Nintendo Switch 2, just to annoy all the Zelda fans who have purchased a Nintendo Switch 2 already. That's a classic Nintendo move. 

 

40th Anniversary of Metroid?

Nintendo has yet to celebrate any of the anniversaries of their other Action Adventure series, but there is a first time for everything. To be fair, they had the perfect opportunity in 2021 with the release of Metroid Dread, but didn't seize it. In any case, it will have been five years since the last 2D Metroid release, so it's time for another remake or even Metroid 6. And theoretically it would have been possible for MercurySteam to cook something if they hadn't been busy with their latest 3D game, Blades of Fire... So, it's probably best to not expect anything.

Zelda Movie: First Look at the Filming

Last week there has been a leaked footage of the live-action production for the upcoming Zelda movie. Today Nintendo has reacted by confirming the whole thing on social media.

Filming is underway for the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda in a lush, natural setting, with Bo Bragason-san who will play Zelda and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth-san who will play Link. Filming is on track for the film’s release on May 7, 2027. It will take a while until the release, so we would be grateful if you would wait patiently and look forward to it.

Yes, please wait patiently and don't disturb the film shootings!

In the leak you can also spot Dichen Lachman as Impa, which is an awesome choice. I liked her a lot in Dollhouse, if anyone still remembers that show (I do barely). But she's also in the cast of Severance, which is on my watch list.

And so far this is looking quite nice. The landscapes in New Zealand are very beautiful for this. They have made for a good Middle Earth, and they will make for a good Hyrule.

What I'm most curious about is how they will handle the different tribes, like the Gorons and the Zora, but I'm not expecting to see any of that in the near future. Maybe we will see a first trailer by the end of next year...

Zelda Movie: Casting for Link and Zelda Announced

Miyamoto announced today that in his upcoming The Legend of Zelda movie project, Zelda will be played by Bo Bragason and Link by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth. They are both British, 20/21 and 16 years old respectively, and you probably haven't heard of either one before.

And that's exactly what I was hoping for. To quote myself: "For Link and Zelda they really need some young, fresh faces. If you know the actors' names already, then they probably shouldn't be hired."

Well, on first glance Bo looks more like a Malon than a Zelda, where she will either get her hair dyed or wear a wig. I'm not exactly seeing her as the eponymous princess yet, but let's wait for what they can make out of her. And they will probably put some GCI sideburns onto Benjamin, but he seems to be a good fit overall.

In any case, both of these young actors will become quite famous from now on. Congratulations for scoring these important roles! 

Zelda Movie Launches March 26th 2027

After the latest Nintendo Direct came the launch of Nintendo's newest app, Nintendo Today, which they are going to use as their own news platform. And the first major news was the announcement that the Zelda film is coming to theaters in exactly two years, on March 26th 2027. Well, I can wait...

They should have ended the Nintendo Direct with this message, maybe even give a small teaser or glimpse. Instead they made Miyamoto announce a news app, which then told us about the Zelda movie one day later. It feels a bit unnecessary, like they are just doing this to push the new app. But in reality it's simply inconvenient, especially since they chose to make these news app-exclusive.

With the Nintendo Music app I can fully understand the reasoning behind it and I like using it, but I also understand the people who want to have everything on Spotify or other music platforms instead. It's effectively how I feel about Nintendo Today, though the main difference is that Nintendo has already used platforms like X (sadly not yet Bluesky) or Youtube to reach their audiences "directly". And they will still do, but if you want all the news and tidbits, you will have to check their app in addition.

Anyway, as for the launch date of the Zelda movie, there isn't much to say here. I'm wondering if they are also targeting 2027 to launch a new Zelda game, but that's only four years after Tears of the Kingdom. 2028 feels more likely, but they could move from the Zelda movie into marketing the new game.

More Thoughts on the Zelda Movie

With last week's announcement of a Zelda movie I was left skeptical, probably like many other Zelda fans out there, who would prefer to see something like a Studio Ghibli movie or nothing at all. Now, a video by Zeltik gave me a new perspective on the matter, which turned my stance from a cautiously pessimistic view into a cautiously optimistic one.

It all starts with a tweet by Wes Ball, the director of the upcoming The Legend of Zelda film, which he made back in January 2010. You've probably seen this already, but here is what it states:

Since I could never even hope to have the chance to direct it... the next big mo-cap Avatar-like movie should be... THE LEGEND OF ZELDA.

So, not only was he both passionate and humble about the prospect of a Zelda movie about 14 years ago, he already had a vision for it: extensive use of motion capture.

And this makes a lot of sense, because with all the different tribes in Hyrule, like the Gorons, Zora, or the Rito, you don't want to put actors under silicone masks. Even with larger-than-life characters like Ganondorf you most likely want them to be computer animated.

There is a reason why many Zelda fans, including myself, would have preferred an animated movie, because in a live-action film many things could end up being very uncanny. But Nintendo has chosen a director, who became an expert in using motion capture and computer generated imagery, where we probably can expect the Zelda film to make heavy usage of CGI.

At the same time, by making this based on live-action, it has the chance to become really different from The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which is what you want for Zelda. The original The Legend of Zelda was the anti-thesis to Super Mario Bros. in gameplay and likewise you want the Zelda movie to be a very different experience from the Super Mario movie.

And while an anime production by Studio Ghibli or alike would have been beautiful, it's also a bit more niche and therefore wouldn't have the same impact as a big Hollywood production. This announced live-action Zelda movie, if done right, could become absolutely epic, something that amazes the audiences, like the Lord of the Rings movies once did. It could even fill this gap today, because Nintendo has proven that they don't want modern politics in their productions with The Super Mario Bros. Movie, while they still want all their characters to shine in a way.

As for the actors, it completely depends on the role. For Link and Zelda they really need some young, fresh faces. If you know the actors' names already, then they probably shouldn't be hired, where you certainly don't want Tom Holland and Anya Taylor-Joy to play Link and Zelda, for example. They are simply too established, which can take you out of the immersion, and they probably would be too old anyway. However, with the characters that get entirely motion captured, it probably doesn't matter as much. They could have Dave Bautista play a Goron or whatever...

As for the story, they should just make their own thing and not retell the story of a specific game. Those stories got all developed around gameplay anyway and therefore wouldn't be the best material for a movie. It should cover the basics, like the Triforce and such, but really explore its own interpretation of Hyrule, like every second Zelda game does. This would also keep things fresh for the fans. You should want to explore the movie Hyrule as much as you want to explore a new Hyrule in a new Zelda game. It should be a fresh experience, not a conversion of something that we already have seen.

But I'm already getting too hopeful here, so it's best to wait and see what they are cooking up. In any case, we can look forward to a big year for Zelda when the movie comes out... Just look at this year, it was supposed to be huge for Zelda with the release of Tears of the Kingdom and it certainly was, but Mario has been completely stealing the show after the release of his movie. They are throwing out new Mario games left and right, where the movie has driven sales according to Nintendo. And maybe it will have such a positive impact on Zelda as well (not that this is needed at the moment).

Zelda Live-Action Film Announced

Nintendo has just published a news release stating that a live-action The Legend of Zelda movie is in the works. It will be produced by Shigeru Miyamoto and Avi Arad, directed by Wes Ball, and distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Other than the irony that a Nintendo film gets co-financed by their biggest competitor, I can't help but feel skeptical about this. Avi Arad and Wes Ball don't have any movies to their name that I like and I don't like the idea of a live-action film in general. I would be much more comfortable with an animated movie...

The Super Mario Bros. Movie was fantastic and I had a lot of fun watching it, where I give Miyamoto the benefit of the doubt that he knows what he's doing here. As a fan of One Piece, I was also positively surprised by its live-action adaption on Netflix, even though it's a bit "cringe" in certain aspects. So, I'm not throwing my hands up in horror just yet, but still I'm cautiously pessimistic here. Better expect nothing than to be disappointed...

My personal dream scenario would have been a Studio Ghibli film. Both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom were heavily inspired by their works, where this could have gone full circle. Getting a Hollywood production instead has me more worried than excited, because I'm having a hard time imagining anything good coming out of this.

It's also interesting how Nintendo announces this in such a dry and businesslike manner. I suppose they know that this will get leaked the second they start filming, so they might as well just be upfront about it and don't even wait for the next Nintendo Direct. But maybe they are also looking for reactions here... And I'm not willing to give this my thumbs up just yet.

The Ganon All the Time

So, I've watched The Devil All the Time last evening, which is an excellent movie on Netflix starring Robert Pattinson and Tom Holland, and woke up to the news that Netflix might be have another role for Tom Holland in mind: Link from The Legend of Zelda. (Source)

There have been rumors about Zelda on Netflix for a while now and they arguably have done a great job with both The Witcher and Castlevania. Well, sometimes I feel like such rumors are thrown out there into the wild to see how the potential audience would react. And I'm not sure I like the idea...

Of course when they first had announced that Henry Cavill would be playing Geralt of Rivia, I wasn't convinced either and he ended up being the perfect choice. But the problem isn't so much the casting choice, but the format of a live action movie or series in general.

It worked well for The Witcher, but with Zelda you're dealing with a lot more fantastical characters thanks to the different tribes, like the Gorons, the Zora, the Rito or the Korogs. So, you would be dealing with a silent protagonist, who's "interacting" with lots of CGI beings. And I'm not convinced that this would work all too well...

Until recently I even thought that an animated movie for Breath of the Wild would be the way to go, but it seems like the backstory of that game will be heavily explored in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, which will certainly be the more entertaining medium for me personally. But I still think that an anime would be the right way to go for putting Zelda on the big screen or making another Zelda series.

Breath of the Wild: Anime Movie?

This is something that came up about one year ago (see this post about a potential Zelda movie), but now that we were able to experience Breath of the Wild it became clearer for how this could work.

It all goes hand in hand with the new way of story telling in Breath of the Wild, where the majority of animated cutscenes take place one hundred years before the events of the game in the form of lost memories that you can find all over the world. You never get the full picture, though.

A Breath of the Wild anime movie could tell the story of what happened 100 years ago in greater detail, maybe even set the main focus on them, while the events in the future are treated as "flash forwards". The movie could even begin with Link fighting Calamity Ganon in the ruined castle as the build-up and from there on explore, how it all came to this dire situation.

A movie for a Zelda game wouldn't work, if it just followed the main game's event. This is what you can already experience in the game as the player and there's usually a too predictable pattern, as you do all the dungeons. It would be boring to watch Link free one Divine Beast after the other. But it would be interesting to learn more about the characters, which used to be your allies in the past, the Champions of Hyrule. And this is why a Breath of the Wild anime movie would probably set the events in the past as its main plot, while the events of the game will be mere flash forwards that deliver the pinnacle and the story's outcome.

And this way a movie would still be quite interesting for players of the game, while it the same time it's enjoyable for people, who haven't played the game yet, and might even motivate those to try it.

Good Bye, 30th Anniversary

(image by Rasheed)

This was to be expected after the announcement that Breath of the Wild wouldn't be released before March 2017, but now that the E3 is over, we can safely assume that Nintendo doesn't have any plans for the 30th Anniversary of Zelda.

We basically got our unofficial anniversary celebration in March, where Nintendo released many new Zelda things right after the anniversary date with Twilight Princess HD, the Wolf Link amiibo, the Twilight Princess Picross and Hyrule Warriors: Legends. And especially the latter will keep me entertained throughout the entire year with all its DLC.

But with the delay of Breath of the Wild, any other anniversary plans probably got cancelled. Anniversaries are always marketing moves and with the new big game from the table it probably didn't make sense for Nintendo to celebrate. Instead they will focus on Pokémon, which is celebrating 20 years and is going to see new big releases this year with Sun and Moon.

If Nintendo really did anything for 30th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda, I would have expected two things mainly: the announcement of a Zelda Anime movie and more DLC for Tri Force Heroes.

Kimishima already implicated that something like a Zelda Movie will be possible for the future and I suppose that we're going to see first announcements after the release of Breath of the Wild. Some fans might not be too happy about the focus on exploration, instead on cutscenes and story, and a Zelda Movie could just give them what they want, while Zelda returns to being a real game. And some anime in the artstyle of the new game really could be lovely.

About Tri Force Heroes, I already said my piece two months ago: the game is dead and the only hope would have been the release of more content. Data miners found place holders for four more costumes and one more area, but sadly we never got those. And it might be possible that Nintendo planned some special anniversary content, similar to the Four Swords: Anniversary Edition, but they cancelled it with the delay of Breath of the Wild. GREZZO is now working on a new game, so Tri Force Heroes is probably done for good. Too bad, some additional content would have been great and I was hoping that they would improve some parts of the game, especially the singleplayer... But that's probably not going to happen. At least not until they remake this game in ten years.

I'm also not expecting anything about the 30th Anniversary of Metroid. Federation Force will be released right after the anniversary, which is on August 6th, but they'll probably just release this game quietly, instead of angering the fans any further. I don't think, it was even showcased at E3, now was it...?

Zelda Movie a Possibility

Nintendo's new president Kimishima spoke to Asahi Shimbun about Nintendo's smartphone and movie plans. See all the details on Perfectly Nintendo.

With the NES and SNES eras Nintendo used to be absolutely everywhere. Yes, there was the bad Super Mario Bros. movie, but they also had TV shows, lots of commercials, even Super Mario cereals. The point is to get attention for Nintendo's actual products: their video game systems and games. It certainly worked for me as a kid. And today smartphones have become an important medium and Nintendo is using this to get attention back to their core systems by releasing free software on Smartphones to lure people back into the real fun. And movies and shows will always be popular, where it could be a good move to do something with their franchises in order to advertise. "Seen this amazing new Zelda movie? Liked it? You have to play the game, then!"

Now, Kimishima doesn't confirm that any Zelda movie is in the talks, but he acknowledges that The Legend of Zelda is in popular demand for such a thing. He also acknowledges that a live action movie didn't really work out so well, which essentially points in the direction of an anime (or animated movie). And this takes away my concerns. I couldn't picture a live action movie for Zelda. Even if it would have Lord of the Rings quality, they won't ever be able to get actors that are a perfect fit for the roles. It would just feel wrong.

An anime in the beautiful style of the new game, however, that is something I could easily picture:

I wouldn't be overly excited, but I certainly wouldn't be worried. It's not the 90s anymore and the Zelda Animated Series from that time is long in the past (though it can be a lot of fun and I might go through all episodes on this blog sometime). An anime worked really well for Bayonetta and if Nintendo can find the right studio (Ghibli may come to mind), a Zelda anime could become a great thing.

This was even something I considered for possible 30th Anniversary surprises, though right now it seems like I was too early with that. The 30th Anniversary might be off the table and all they do at E3 is doing an unscripted live show of the new game. No Zelda Direct or anything, where they could announce something like a Zelda anime in big fashion. But it's still possible that they might reveal something during this year. We'll see and this will certainly be an interesting topic in the future.