Somehow Nintendo managed to make long-time fans and general audiences happy with The Super Mario Bros. Movie, so they’re taking the same risk with The Legend of Zelda.

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On November 7, 2023, Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto tweeted that he was in the process of producing a Zelda live-action film alongside Avi Arad (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Uncharted), with director Wes Bell (The Maze Runner) helming the project, and Jurassic World writer Derek Connolly penning the script. Definitely a mixed bag announcement, especially when you throw in that Sony is not only distributing the film worldwide, but is co-financing the project at well.

This is Miyamoto. I have been working on the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda for many years now with Avi Arad-san, who has produced many mega hit films. [1]— 任天堂株式会社 (@Nintendo) November 7, 2023

That being said, this announcement comes as no surprise after the massive success The Super Mario Bros. Movie saw upon its release in early 2023. The Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo’s flagship franchises, so it makes sense for the kingdom of Hyrule to come to life next on the big screen. However, unlike the canon of Mario, Zelda‘s timeline is…. complicated to say the least.

With 20 games to choose from that are officially considered canon, The Legend of Zelda film has limitless potential for what pieces of the timeline it can cover. While the film can’t run forever, these 6 pieces of the Zelda timeline would be perfect for the live-action film.

Basically all of Skyward Sword

Any The Legend of Zelda film would be wrong to not include at least some piece of Skyward Sword‘s story in their plot. The Wii outing for Link and Co. was controversial to say the least, but it gave us the origin story to many of the key elements within the Zelda timeline: Where the Master Sword came from and how it got its power, how the Triforce was created, and why Ganon, Zelda, and Link are constantly reincarnated to fight each other. It would be wrong to limit just one moment from this game to be adapted, but if we had to choose, the story of the generational curse placed on Zelda and Link would be a great prologue for the film.

The sages teaming up in Ocarina of Time

We know the temples in Ocarina of Time are still a sensitive spot, the Water Temple in particular being the biggest offender. But the six sages teaming up with Link to save Zelda toward the end of the game is a truly beautiful moment. Each sage has become aware of their true identity, and considering they need Zelda as the seventh sage to stop Ganondorf, it’s touching seeing all of them work together to help Link reach Ganondorf and finally take him down.

Hyrule being caves in The Legend of Zelda

Even though it’s the first game in the series, The Legend of Zelda ironically offers very little story elements besides the basic pieces that are in every game, like the Master Sword, Ganondorf, and the Triforce. But one unique feature to the original game’s story is the way the kingdom of Hyrule is set up. Unlike other games where it’s a vast land to explore, Hyrule is a small village, where its residents hide in caves out of fear for the monsters on the surface. With some additional elements, this setting could be a great piece to add to the film adaptation.

Sheik from Ocarina of Time or Tetra from Wind Waker

Zelda is an important piece of The Legend of Zelda franchise. Though the franchise may be named after her though, she’s far from the most interesting character in the series. In most games, she’s watered down to a damsel in distress, with minimal personality. Two games however give her a unique characterization, those being Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker. Sheik is Zelda’s ninja disguise, implied to be part of the Sheikah tribe, in Ocarina of Time, while Tetra is a bad-ass pirate captain in Wind Waker. We’ll take either one since both are awesome characterizations of Zelda.

Breath of the Wild‘s version of the Zora

If The Legend of Zelda timeline doesn’t seem complicated enough for you, keep in mind that in each branch of the timeline, the Zora people are either literal fish, more humanoid fish people, or enemies to fight. That being said, the official Zelda timeline places Breath of the Wild as a merging point between all three timelines, and in that game the Zora are characterized as humanoid fish people who are for the most part at peace with the other races. Besides the fact we want to see who they cast as Prince Sidon, this version of the Zora would be the most interesting to see in a film.

Link being silent as can be

We refuse to see this movie unless the actor cast as Link says not a single word throughout the film. All we’ll allow is the occasional “Hyah!” or “Hyut!”, otherwise The Legend of Zelda‘s a failure.