The world has gone bananas. First, the Mario animated movie voice cast was announced with Chris Pratt set to headline, and now new reports are speculating that Seth Rogen's Donkey Kong is set to get his own standalone film.
Donkey Kong was already confirmed to be voiced by Rogen in the aforementioned Mario flick, something that when announced made the internet audibly laugh. Casting across the board was like something from a fever dream: Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as Bowser and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad. Nobody could have predicted this madness.
It's amazing that Nintendo has committed to another movie adaption after the nightmare fever that was the 1993 release. It's just why is a Donkey Kong film with Seth Rogen (via GiantFreakinRobot) seen as more of a priority than anything to do with The Legend of Zelda. Decades.
Literally decades I've waited for any kind of live-action Zelda TV series or film. Of course, the dream would be for Nintendo to hire Peter Jackson and give it The Lord of the Rings treatment. Three superb, grand outings that can live on for generations.
When I was young, IGN made an infamous April Fools' Day trailer for a Zelda movie and honestly, I've never stopped thinking about it.
All I want is a Zelda series, be that via film or television. While Peter Jackson is more than capable, I'd still be as excited for a HBO Max Zelda series – hell, at this point I'd settle for a Witcher-style Netflix series. We nearly had it too! Back in 2015, Nintendo reportedly partnered with the streaming platform to make a Zelda series that was said to be a family-friendly version of Game of Thrones. It leaked (along with a claymation Star Fox show – RIP) and Nintendo basically pulled the plug on the whole thing.
For the level of scale, though, it does seem like cinema is a must. Hyrule Castle, the Temple of Time, fighting behemoths like Gohma and Ganon, as well as riding across the open fields of Hyrule on horseback. These ideas and imagery are dying to be adapted for the big screen, but for now, I guess I'll have to settle for a damn dirty animated ape.
The currently untitled Mario movie will star Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, and Seth Rogen. It's scheduled to release in theatres globally on December 21st, 2022. The reported Donkey Kong spinoff film is not expected until 2023 at the earlier. By then, I'm hoping we will have heard something about a Zelda adaption, be that film or TV.
