Star Wars Films Will Keep Getting Axed, Here's Why

  I haven’t done one of these “think pieces” in awhile, so I’m gonna start with a list:

Star Wars movies either canceled or in limbo:

Obi-Wan Kenobi (reworked as a show)

Boba Fett (reworked as a show)

Rian Johnson Trilogy

Benioff & Weiss Trilogy

Knights of the Old Republic

Kevin Feige Movie

Rogue Squadron

A Droid Story

Lando

Taika Waititi Movie

Damon Lindelof Movie

That’s fifteen movies. Quite a bit, eh? So now the question becomes: Why does this keep happening, and will it ever get better?

I can already answer the second part of the question: No.

But to understand why, we need to dissect the first part of the question…

Back in 1972, George Lucas began working on what would eventually become Star Wars. The movie came out in 1977. That means he had five entire years to work on the movie soup-to-nuts, without having to worry about fan expectations because, surprise, there were no fans yet…

Thankfully, the film received immediate universal praise. The following film, The Empire Strikes Back, was met with some initial criticism, but people quickly came around to it. Since then, each installment has been divisive, at best. Things became even more complex in 2012, when Disney acquired the property. Now, the franchise had to try to please both fans AND shareholders alike. Spoiler alert: both camps want as much content as possible, even if they don’t admit it…

To make matters worse, Disney launched its own streaming service in 2019, just as the mainline Skywalker Saga was coming to end. Similarly to Marvel, Star Wars now had to define a new, post-saga course for its movies, while also justifying the existence of multiple shows a year, all while still having to appeal to both fans and shareholders alike…

Therefore, as one would expect, Lucasfilm is under pressure to keep announcing content on a regular basis. Some of you reading this may go “they should at least write an outline before announcing something.” While I’m not on the inside, I can all but guarantee that every new movie they announce has at least an outline before they announce it. That said, a good outline doesn’t necessarily guarantee a good script, let alone a good movie. Speaking as a writer myself, I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve written an outline, thinking I have a hit on my hands, only to then start expanding said outline into an actual manuscript and realizing what I had was actually shit. In fact, it just happened to me again today…

So now you may be thinking “okay, well then they should write at least one full script draft before they announce something.” I think it’s pretty safe to say that, if it weren’t for having to keep the shareholders happy, that’s exactly what they would do. In fact, they even tried that a few times, but the problem is that scripts take quite a bit of time to write, and when it comes to Star Wars, it’s hard to keep things a secret, especially from scoop-hungry journalists. Keep in mind that the Kevin Feige movie was never officially announced by Disney or Lucasfilm themselves. They were secretly working on the script, and then someone on the inside talked to a journalist, and the rest is history. Same thing happened to the Damon Lindelof film.

This is all to say that, a lot of times, a project is either forced into announcement prematurely by the major studio (Disney, in this case), or its existence is leaked to the press while it’s still in the scripting phase. This even happens to small, non-IP projects that never get finished, let alone something like Star Wars…

Even Marvel’s beloved Infinity Saga hit some bumps in the road along the way (some entries were better than others, plus, remember when Inhumans was supposed to be a movie?). And while the Multiverse Saga continues to chug along, its reception seems to keep declining with each and every new release, and their plans are slowly becoming more “wobbly” now too (remember when Armor Wars was supposed to be a show? Is Kang still gonna be the new final boss?). I’ve also said this before, but even the Infinity Saga itself didn’t become “solidified” until the first Avengers film in 2012 (they didn’t know they were gonna pursue the Thanos story until then, hence why the cartoony-looking gauntlet full of stones in the first Thor film had to be retconned as a decoy).

Besides, do you think the people running Star Wars want to keep putting out multiple mediocre movies every year, like Marvel does right now? Especially when Star Wars seems to receive ten times as much scrutiny? As a matter of fact, no other franchise outside of Marvel has managed to pull off the assembly-line model that they themselves pioneered, and can barely still do themselves. I can’t even count on two hands how many abandoned film slates DC has had in the last decade, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole James Gunn thing doesn’t work out now either…

With that all being said, I think it’s time for all of us to accept that the Infinity Saga was a fluke, and that a pre-determined, decade-long film slate like that is never gonna happen ever again. When it comes to any franchise, movies are gonna keep getting announced because shareholders (as well as fans, to a lesser extent) want to keep knowing what’s going on. Some of those plans will happen, some of them won’t. It is what it is. In fact, we now live in a world where an entire movie can be filmed and yet still be canceled (RIP Batgirl). My best advice would be to just not take any of this stuff too seriously until you see a trailer for it…

I’d like to also remind everyone that good art usually takes time. It took Tolkien seventeen years to finally publish all three volumes of The Lord of the Rings, after all. I also think that the days of something getting announced and then being released just a few years later are over. Like I said at the start of this post, Lucas took five whole years to make the original film. Similarly, he announced The Phantom Menace in 1993, and the movie itself only came out six entire years later. On another similar note, the original Spider-Man movie was in development hell for like ten years and went through a few different directors (even James Cameron was supposed to do it, at one point). Terminator 2 and Aliens both took seven years to make (both by Cameron too, funny enough). Pixar sequels take a while too. The list goes on…

People these days expect a slate announcement for everything when, not that long ago, there were no slate announcements for franchises cause franchises as we know them now didn’t even exist yet. For a long time, there was no internet/ social media to even use for such announcements. Everything just got reported through trade magazines like Variety and whatnot. Also, up until 2008, superhero movies did not connect together to form cinematic universes, and other series like Star Wars, Harry Potter, Middle-Earth, etc. were nowhere near ready to think about spin-offs and whatnot. Furthermore, Marvel head Kevin Feige even said recently that, going forward, Marvel itself “will operate more like a normal development studio, so don’t expect every project that gets reported on to actually get made” (I’m paraphrasing there). Even he’s getting tired of these big slate announcements, cause they’re starting to backfire on him (remember when the Blade reboot movie was announced in 2019?).

I say all this because I’ve noticed movie nerds getting more and more anxious about this stuff. A few months ago, it was announced that the sequel to The Batman would only be released in late 2026 (four and a half years after the first one), and a bunch of people online threw a temper tantrum over it (EDIT: Delayed to 2028 now, which is more warranted of criticism). Unfortunately, it seems that Marvel (and major studio culture in general) has conditioned everyone into thinking that we always need content within a few years from announcement. We need to get out of that mindset, I think…

If it’s any consolation, I’m sure all the in-limbo Star Wars projects listed at the top here will eventually get made. Some might mutate into shows (like Kenobi and Fett did). Some might change directors still. Some might only get released like ten or so years after they were originally announced. This was the world before Marvel, and it’s the world again now…

Peace!

UPDATE: I’m not saying that all future Marvel films will suck, nor am I saying that Star Wars shouldn’t start doing multiple movies a year like Marvel does. I’m not in a position to say what any of these brands should or shouldn’t do. Maybe all Marvel movies from here on out will be great. Maybe Star Wars will start doing multiple films a year and be able to do it just as well as Marvel does. Both of those cases would be nice, actually…

Ranking Theatrical Superman Films Based On First Impressions

 DISCLAIMER: I might come back and update this post as more theatrical Superman films are released.

Since I recently did a ranking for all theatrically-released Batman films, I figured it made sense now to do one for his polar opposite, Superman, who has also had quite a presence on the big screen for several decades now. And as per usual with me, this ranking is based strictly on first impressions. Furthermore, some of these entries only feature Sups in a cameo role, at most, but I decided to include them anyway…

With that all out of the way, let’s get going:

Loved it

1.Superman

2.The Lego Movie

3.The Lego Batman Movie

4.Superman: The Movie

5.Superman II (either version)

6.Shazam!

I liked it but didn’t love it

7.The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

8.Teen Titans Go! To the Movies

9.Justice League (any version)

10.The Flash

Wasn’t sure how to feel about it

11.Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (any version)

12.Man of Steel (third act was too much)

Bad, but at least it’s funny

13.Superman III

14.Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

Didn’t like it

15.Superman Returns

Didn’t watch it

16.DC League of Super-Pets

17.Black Adam

18.Superman and the Mole Men

19.DC Heroes vs. Eagle Talon (seriously, wtf is this?!)

Peace!

Related: Ranking Repository

Ranking Theatrical Batman Films Based On First Impressions

 DISCLAIMER: I might come back and update this post as more theatrical Batman films are released.

Seeing as I recently did a ranking for all the entries in the DCEU, I figured it made sense now to do one for Batman/ Bruce Wayne specifically, since he’s been in far more films than any other DC character… For this list specifically, I decided to draw the line at theatrically-released films only (of which there’s more than you might expect, actually). Also, like last time, this ranking is based strictly on first impressions.

With that all out of the way, let’s get going:

I cried tears of joy

1.Batman Begins

Great but missing some emotion

2.The Batman

Great but a bit confusing at times

3.The Dark Knight

Great but ends a bit abruptly

4.Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

Great but also a bit weird

5.Batman Returns

6.Batman

Great but not really Batman

7.The Lego Movie

8.The Lego Batman Movie

Liked it but didn’t love it

9.The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

10.Teen Titans Go! To the Movies

11.Justice League (any version)

12.The Flash

Wasn’t sure how to feel about it

13.The Dark Knight Rises

14.Joker

15.Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (any version)

Bad, but at least it’s funny

16.Batman: The Movie*

17.Batman & Robin

*I took it too seriously, this shit is actually awesome

Didn’t like it

18.Batman: The Killing Joke

19.Batman Forever

20.Suicide Squad (either version)

Didn’t watch it

21.DC League of Super-Pets

22.Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders

23.DC Super Heroes vs. Eagle Talon (wtf even is this?)

Well, that was fun! I am cautiously optimistic for The Batman: Part II, The Brave and the Bold, etc.

Peace!

Related: Ranking Repository

Is Pop Culture Beyond Saving?

  There was a time, around the early 2010’s or so, when it seemed like all of us media dorks agreed on pretty much everything…

In general: We all loved the original trilogy and hated the prequel trilogy and were excited for the sequel trilogy. We all hated the Andrew Garfield movies and wanted Spider-Man to feel like a genuine kid. We all hated Zack Snyder and wanted DC to feel “lighthearted” like Marvel. We all loved the MCU. Perhaps most controversially to say; a lot of us were getting tired of the typical white guy hero and wanted some more diversity…

Now everything is fucked. Literally all the examples I typed above don’t even apply anymore, and that’s just the big stuff. You also have smaller examples like how, just few a years ago, everyone seemed to worship filmmakers like Favreau & Filoni, Benioff & Weiss, Taika Waititi, etc. Now, though? Not so much…

All of this has left two questions lingering in my mind:

1.What the fuck happened?

2.Can we ever get back to a point where we all agree on everything again?

The answer to that second question is no, but to understand why, we need to dissect the first question, uhh, first…

To put it simply; fans turning on their favorite franchises and/or creators can all be tied back to one root cause… They all overstay their welcome, but they also can’t stop, because money is money.

That’s literally it. Nothing more, nothing less. With enough time, a “counter culture” develops for any piece of media. Similarly, with enough time, a creator fumbles. The only exceptions are the people who take their time with everything, like JRR Tolkien and Cormac McCarthy. That said, not everyone can afford to be like Tolkien and McCarthy (both of whom had side jobs at universities, anyways). For most popular creators, creating is their business, and they have to keep going. Sometimes that means doubling down on familiar characters, worlds, etc., even long after those stories may have reached their natural conclusions…

As both a writer on the side and a geek, all of this has put me in a difficult position. For a long time, I based my whole identity around these fandoms. This was fine back in the early-to-mid 2010’s, cause my own opinions matched up with the general consensus in those days, but that’s no longer the case. On a similar note, as a writer, I’m starting to get closer and closer to potentially crafting sequels to my own work, which sorta goes against my point earlier about a lot of these things “overstaying their welcome.”

So, in both of these cases, what’s the solution? For being a fan of things, it’s easy; just look for other things to be a fan of. I myself am slowly moving away from stuff like Star Wars and superheroes, and instead shifting my focus towards other things like Cameron’s Avatar, Dune, etc. I suppose another route would be to try to keep finding more and more people to talk about the same things with, but I feel like even that would have a limit (despite how big these fandoms are, and how interconnected the world is now).

        For where to go as a writer, the answer is a little more complicated. I want to make sequels to my own stuff, but when will I know it’s the right time to stop? While typing this very post, I think I’ve reached an epiphany: All stories can have two endings; the happily ever after ending, and the real life ending…

Perhaps no story better exemplifies this than the 1967 film The Graduate (which itself is based on a book from 1963). In the very last shot of the movie, we see Dustin Hoffman and his girlfriend escape from her shit family on the back of a bus. Both of them are smiling. The movie could’ve just ended here… But it doesn’t. A few more seconds go by, and suddenly, their smiles morph into frowns. We can tell they’re both thinking “Crap, now what?” Sure, they’re free of Mrs. Robinson, but now they’re broke, with nowhere to go… In literally less than a minute, without any dialogue, the story goes from a happily ever after ending, to a real life ending…

Stories can either end on a high, or they can end in a way that reminds us how conflicts/resolutions are destined to repeat in cycles forever. Toy Story 3 is happily ever after. Toy Story 4 is real life. Return of the Jedi is happily ever after. The sequel trilogy is real life… That doesn’t mean stuff like Toy Story 4 and the sequel trilogy are entirely bad, mind you. They just are what they are…

This is all to say that, once you’ve done both your happily ever after ending and your real life ending, you should probably stop, unless you feel you have a really good reason not to, like if your series operates more as an anthology. But that would likely involve having a protagonist who’s really more just there to “observe” a story and interact with the real protagonist of each installment (which is how mysteries tend to work). I thought I was that kinda writer, but now I’m not so sure. I think I prefer seeing viewpoint characters go through changes…

Anyways, if you’re a movie geek or a storyteller (or both, like me), hopefully all this dribble drabble here gave you at least something to chew on…

Peace!

UPDATE 1: Something I forgot to mention earlier is that the whole “passing of the torch” thing doesn’t really work as well as it should, bar a few exceptions (Frodo Baggins, Miles Morales, etc.). Spin-offs are also generally not a good idea (again, bar a few exceptions like Solo). I think it may be best to just stick with one main protagonist throughout a series. Either that or maybe stop after a generation (25 years at most) of telling a certain story.

UPDATE 2: Another epiphany I just had is that people in pop culture fandoms tend to want to discuss negativity more than positivity because, when we feel negative about something, we want think about how it could’ve been better. Conversely, when something is “good enough,” we don’t care as much. But the longer you keep something around, the more you have to justify it’s existence, which hurts its chances of continuing to be “good enough.”

Top 5 Ways I Would Adapt "Zelda"

  Fun fact about me: I love the Legend of Zelda video game series… Another fun fact about me: I’ve never completed a single Zelda game in my entire life…

Yes, it’s true. I was never much of a gamer growing up, but my brother was, and I would sit and watch him play through many different games, particularly from the Zelda franchise. I loved the lore, the characters, the different environments, the music, and so on. Furthermore, being the big movie fan that I am, I wondered for years what a Zelda film or show would be like (the 80’s cartoon doesn’t count, though I enjoy it ironically). With a new animated Super Mario Bros. film well under way, it’s only a matter of time before Nintendo gives a proper Zelda adaptation a chance. Therefore, I thought I’d share my Top 5 ideas for it here.

Disclaimer before we begin; I will be discussing the official, controversial timeline of all the games throughout this entire post. Believe it or not, the timeline has actually grown on me recently. At one point or another, A Link to the Past, The Wind Waker and Majora’s Mask (and by extension, Twilight Princess) were all intended to be sequels to Ocarina of Time, so the three-prong split allows for that all to still be true. Furthermore, all the other games are still in the chronological positions where they were said to have been upon release, with the exception of Four Swords Adventures. That one was clearly intended to be both a direct sequel to Four Swords as well as a “replacement prequel” for A Link to the Past during different points of production, but ended up being neither. That said, Ganon is referred to as an “ancient demon reborn” in that game, which fits with his death in Twilight Princess (which was in early development when Adventures came out), so I’m fine with the final placement. I also don’t mind the idea of Breath of the Wild being so far in the future (ten thousand years, to be exact) that it can take place at the end of any of the three timelines.

So, with that all out of the way, let’s dive right in!

1. A loose adaptation of Ocarina of Time

I felt like it made the most sense to start with this one since it’s by far the most popular game in the franchise. Furthermore, it’s the entry that causes the timeline to split into three fragments, which could lead to a lot of neat storytelling potential in the future. On top of that, an adaptation can take artistic liberties that could allow for the “downfall” timeline branch to be better justified. At the moment, that branch is only possible if you, the player, die in-game when playing Ocarina. However, an adaptation can, for instance, show Link dying or nearly dying and then have Zelda/Sheik use the ocarina to undo his downfall. In fact, she could have an arc where she starts off not seeing Link as the “chosen one,” only to then grow to trust him throughout the story, thus leading to her wanting to use time travel to save him.

There are other artistic liberties I would take as well, for the sake of simplifying the plot down. I wouldn’t have Link travel back and forth between childhood and adulthood, for starters. Furthermore, I wouldn’t include many side quests or dungeons or bosses, with the exception of maybe Dark Link and Phantom Ganon since they can serve as thematic reflection and foreshadowing, respectively. I would also reduce stuff like finding the stones and awakening most of the sages to just montages.

That all being said, the most important aspect of nearly any story is knowing what theme you’re going for. The game Ocarina uses time travel to cleverly play on the theme of “growing up and letting your childhood go.” Young Link starts off living with a bunch of kids who magically stay kids forever, only to find out that he’s not really one of them, and that he will someday grow up. He’s then swept away on an adventure that leads to him “sleeping” for seven years and suddenly waking up as an adult. Soon enough, he returns to his home, only to find that his closest friend, Saria, is really one of the sages he needs to awaken. In a way, even she needed to “grow up.” Zelda also lost her childhood during the seven years when Ganondorf ruled while Link was asleep (maybe exploring this more can help with their bonding). The story ends with Link finally being able to go back to the past and live out his childhood, but he doesn’t return home (as seen in the direct sequel Majora’s Mask), cause he knows now that he can never truly go back.

You would have to make other slight adjustments to the lore and story to make this theme work better, like maybe Ganandorf felt pressure his whole life for being the only male Gerudo, and therefore felt like he never truly had a childhood because of that. In any case, I definitely think the game provides a solid story to work off of.

2. A loose adaptation of Skyward Sword

Here me out. I know this game is not as beloved as most of the others in the franchise, but that has mostly to do with the gameplay mechanics (which don’t really matter in this context) as well as the fact that the narrative is a little too linear for gamers to truly feel “in control.” That said, a linear narrative is just what a movie or show adaptation would need. Making a solid adaptation could also help to redeem the game in the eyes of many. It also helps that this is the first entry in the timeline, and is basically a creation myth that explains “the beginning of everything” for the franchise.

Again, I would keep the plot simple. Keep the bosses and dungeons and side quests to the bare minimum, and don’t revisit locations over and over like the actual game does (I don’t think anyone would complain about that change). Furthermore, just have the skyward sword turn straight into the master sword, instead of having it turn into a bunch of different swords in between.

In regards to theme; this game, like Ocarina, uses time travel to cleverly tell a coming of age story. You, the player, keep hearing about an ancient hero throughout the game, only to then go back in time to defeat the final boss, meaning you were the ancient hero all along (manga be damned). I think any sort of adaptation of this game should emphasize that aspect as much as possible. Maybe have this incarnation of Link be someone who doesn’t really believe in himself, but then during the final battle he realizes that he himself is really the ancient hero he grew up hearing so much about, and this realization gives him the confidence boost he needs to deliver the final blow. I would probably also play around with the idea of Link and Zelda both being afraid of unintentionally causing evil, which technically happens when Demise (proto-Ganon) casts a dark spell that forces the three of them to be reincarnated over and over throughout the rest of time. But by this point I would have Link and Zelda both come to terms with the fact that evil is simply inevitable.

So again, I think there’s potential here. The neat visuals and art style of the game itself, along with its fully orchestrated soundtrack, also make it a pretty strong contender for a cinematic adaptation.

3. A loose adaptation of Breath of the Wild

For starters, this is the most recent main game released (soon to be followed by a direct sequel), so it’s the one freshest in people’s minds. Also, as mentioned above, it takes place far enough in the future to the point where all other entries in the franchise are nothing more than myth. Furthermore, in my honest opinion, this is the only entry that would work in live action, simply because of the fact that Link doesn’t wear a hat in this one (let’s face it, that hat is never gonna look right in real life). And once again, I would try to keep the plot simple. Little-to-no side quests, and only montages for the shrines.

Okay, time to talk theme now. So this incarnation of Link is an amnesiac who slowly regains his memories as the game progresses (depending on how the player chooses to play). Not too long ago, I came across a Redditor who suggested that a potential Wild adaption could showcase Link adapting to his new, simpler life in the post-apocalyptic Hyrule (cooking and fishing and whatnot), but as his memories return to him, he gradually realizes that he needs to put his own personal interests aside to do what’s right for the kingdom’s legacy and future. So again, we’re dealing with a theme of heroism, but with a dash of “do the right thing” for good measure.

4. A loose adaption of A Link to the Past

I figured this one also made sense, since the narrative is fairly simple and traditional. Plus, it was first game released in the franchise where the narrative was tied into the gameplay itself (the first two games left most of the narrative stuff to the prologues and manuals). This also happens to be the first game taking place in the aforementioned “downfall” timeline (where the Link from Ocarina looses), so you can add a Mistborn type of spin to the story where the failure of the ancient “chosen one” has since affected the culture of the present.

Once again; keep the plot simple (just a montage for most of the awakenings of the maidens). As far as theme goes; I see a through-line of “learning to deal with loss” here. The game starts with Link having to pick up the sword and shield after his guardian dies trying to save Zelda first himself, and Zelda’s father also happens to be killed around this same time. So both of our main characters have to deal with the loss of their caretakers, just like how the whole kingdom of Hyrule is still dealing with the effects of losing the previous chosen hero long ago. Of course, everything is set right in the end once Link is able to make a wish on the Triforce (including the resurrection of Ocarina Link according to some fan theories), but it would be interesting to see all the characters learning to accept their losses first before getting that “reward” at the end.

And last but not least…

5. A unique story (not based on any one game in particular)

This would probably be the best route to go, since there wouldn’t be as many expectations to live up to. If it were up to me, though, I would still take some cues from Breath of the Wild in particular, like setting it late in the timeline, and getting rid of Link’s hat if this absolutely had to be live-action. I would probably also base my incarnation of Ganon closely on the one seen in Wild (where he’s less of a person and more so just an “entity of evil” who maybe just takes on a more humanoid form on occasion for a few “boss fights,” if even that). I think Hyrule should also be presented less as a “kingdom,” so to speak, and more so as a vast, open landscape full of possibilities to explore, as it is in Wild.

And yet again, the plot needs to stay simple. The Triforce should be unified, and the objective should just be something like finding the Master Sword so that it can be used to open the door to the Sealed Realm where the Triforce is, so that a wish can be made on it. So think like a mix of Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past.

But that’s just the plot. What would the actual “story” be, you ask? Well, I think the key is to have Link and Zelda both learn from each other, in some way or another. For instance, maybe Link starts off as just an “adventurer” who loves traveling around and fighting monsters just for the thrill of it, but then learns to care about Hyrule on a more emotional level, while Zelda starts off caring too much about her role as Hyrule’s future and then learns to also take time for herself. Maybe she also starts traveling around more and learning to be “one with the people,” instead of just leading them.

Or if you really wanna get creative with it, do a role reversal! Have Link start off as a knight or something who’s focused too much on guarding the kingdom, while all Zelda wants to do is travel around and isn’t focused enough on her destiny as Hyrule’s future leader, and then by the end they “swap.” Think something along the lines of that fan art that imagines Link as a Prince and Zelda as the wandering hero (though maybe not that extreme). It would almost be like a new pseudo-origin story for the franchise, so to speak. In either case, it would be a play on the theme of “heroism vs. adventurism,” and exploring different ways to be a hero.

So there you have it! I truly feel these are all the best options, as the first two games don’t really have much of a story, and the rest, while great, are all a bit too radical to serve as the basis of the first true Zelda adaptation. That said, Link’s Awakening would make a great story down the road too, as the game involves Link having to destroy a dream world in order to return to the real one. I could see the moral that he learns being something like “Hyrule still needs it’s hero,” if that makes sense…

Anyways, it’ll be interesting to see what Nintendo eventually does…

Peace!

2025 UPDATE: So now a live-action movie is being made, and rumor has it that it’s the first of a planned trilogy. Hearing this, I couldn’t help but challenge myself into trying to figure out how I would “trilogize” Zelda. For the first installment, I think I would go with the option of having Link start out as someone who wants to be an “official” knight instead of just a wandering adventurer, and Zelda start out as a princess who wants to just be a wanderer, but then by the end of the first film they accept their roles (theme of “destiny”). Then in the second film, I would have the ancient “sleeping” Zelda awaken, so then “our” Zelda has to accept that she’s not best fit to run the kingdom anymore, and finally becomes the wanderer she wanted to originally be, while Link has to stop the resurrection of Ganon and battles Dark Link in the process (theme of “reflection”). Finally, in the third film, Ganon returns but is destroyed again, but in the process, Hyrule gets destroyed too. However, Link and Zelda escape and discover through some magic mumbo jumbo that Hyrule will eventually be rebuilt, and the two of them will be reincarnated. If the movies go beyond a trilogy, I would switch to animation and adapt different versions of the characters from some of the “weirder” games.

Related: Fiction Repository