The Legend of Zelda (2020)

The Legend of Zelda is an upcoming 2020 American fantasy adventure film[3] based on the video game franchise of the same name by Sega. The film is directed by Jeff Fowler (in his feature directorial debut), written by Patrick Casey and Josh Miller, and stars James Marsden, Jim Carrey, and Ben Schwartz as the voice of Link. In the film, a small-town sheriff assists Link as he attempts to escape Dr. Corba and the government.

In 2013, Sony Pictures acquired the film rights to the franchise, and by 2014, had a movie adaptation in development. Fowler was hired to direct in 2016. After Sony put the project in turnaround, Paramount Pictures acquired it in 2017, and the majority of the cast had signed on by August 2018. Filming took place between July and October 2018 in Ladysmith and Parksville both on Vancouver Island, and in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The Legend of Zelda was initially scheduled to be released in the United States on November 8, 2019. But, due to overwhelmingly negative reviews to the first trailer, released on April 30, Paramount delayed the film to February 14, 2020, in order to redesign Link, whose original design drew the most criticism. The redesign, unveiled in a new trailer, which was released on November 12, 2019, garnered a far more positive reaction from fans and media outlets.

Premise
Link, a Hero anthropomorphic Human from Hyrule, comes to Earth to escape malevolent forces seeking to harness his power of super-speed. After accidentally causing a massive power outage and hiding out in the town of Green Hills, Link is targeted by the government who then hire the tyrannical roboticist Dr. Corba to hunt him down. Meanwhile, ex-SFPD officer-turned-Green Hills sheriff Tom Wachowski meets Link and decides to help him evade capture, collect his rings and stop Corba from using Link's powers for world domination.[4][5]

Cast
Ben Schwartz as the voice of Lini, an anthropomorphic Human from the Hyrule, who can run at supersonic speeds and is not only on the run from Corba, but also the government.[6][7] Jim Carrey as Dr. Corba, a scientist and inventor who is after Link's super-speed for world domination.[8] James Marsden as Tom Wachowski, a former SFPD officer-turned-newly appointed sheriff of Green Hills who befriends Link and aids him in his quest to stop Corba.[9] Tika Sumpter as Annie Wachowski, Tom's wife who helps him and Link evade Corba.[10] Lee Majdoub as Stone, a corrupt government agent who works closely with Corba.[11] Adam Pally as Billy Robb, a fellow police officer of Green Hills and Tom's friend.[12] Neal McDonough as Major Bennington Frank C. Turner as Crazy Carl[13] Melody Niemann as JoJo Wachowski, Tom and Annie's daughter.[citation needed] Additionally, Natasha Rothwell,[14] Debs Howard, Elfina Luk,[15] Riff Raff, Shannon Chan-Kent and Garry Chalk are additionally cast in undisclosed roles.[16][17][18]

Production
Sony Pictures Entertainment acquired the rights to produce and distribute a film based The Legend of Zelda in 2013.[19] On June 10, 2014, a live-action animated film was announced as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Marza Animation Planet.[20] It would be produced by Neal H. Moritz by his Original Film banner alongside Takeshi Ito, Mie Onishi, and Toru Nakahara, and written by Evan Susser and Van Robichaux.[20] In February 2016, Sega CEO Hajime Satomi said the film was scheduled for 2018.[21] Blur Studio's Tim Miller and Jeff Fowler were hired in 2016 to develop it; Fowler would make his feature directorial debut, and Miller and Fowler would executive produce.[22] Patrick Casey, Josh Miller, and Oren Uziel were writing the screenplay, while Casey and Miller wrote the story.[22][23]

On October 2, 2017, Paramount Pictures announced that they had acquired the rights after Sony's Columbia Pictures put the film into turnaround. Most of the production team remained unchanged.[24] In February 2018, it was announced that the movie would be released in February 2020 .[25][26]