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Discussion How would you like to see Link characterized in the Zelda movie?

Irene

Irene

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This is a huge question mark.

Seeing him translated on the big screen is going to be interesting. They have to interpret him in a completely different way that not only fits the movie in terms of which kind of story they're going for, but also how he will fit into the narrative medium of cinema. How they will do it.. well, we can only speculate.

I am one of those who actually thinks that Link is a really cool character that has more personality that he gets credit for. He is the stoic silent guy, but is not devoid of emotion or empathy that you can read into him. (And he's evidently not devoid of snappy oneliners either, as seen in dialogue options) But no matter how hard I try to think about it, I have difficulty wrapping my head around this. What about you?
 
Sociopath Zelda is Best Zelda.



But seriously, no damsel in distress. It’s lazy and dated storytelling/characterization. Y’all can do better.

If Link doesn’t talk, that should be explained narratively. Since this is a movie, Nintendo really should commit to Link being a character and develop him as one as he can’t merely be an avatar of the player here.
 
If he does talk a lot in the movie, they better not bring that over to the games
 
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Honestly, just go with the kind of characterizations we've seen in recent games.

SS, BOTW and TOTK have all had Link show little bits of his personality through dialogue choices. He can be a bit snarky. He can be no-nonsense. And very introspective, even as the weight of the world is LITERALLY on his shoulders. But he can be still largely "quiet" while others around him have more bold and outgoing personalities.

That's what I imagine would be perfect for someone on screen. He ain't a motormouth, but he can certainly act as the situation calls for.
 
Stoic would make me cringe so hard.

He's a tiny ball of pure chaos. Quiet and chaotic are not mutually exclusive. He rarely talks and when he does it's a pun. That's a good character. Levity in a gritty (compared to Mario) movie is a good thing. Keeping him quiet except where absolutely necessary, or to provide a humourise interjection, would suit his character.

Link in a very literal sense ISN'T stoic, not in the way Samus is anyway. He gets visibly mad, he jokes, he laughs, he can be sad and empathetic. Stoicism isn't part of his character, percieved stoicism is a function of him as a gameplay vehicle: you just don't need your little chaotic puppet to do running commentary.
 
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Catsylvania said:
Sociopath Zelda is Best Zelda.



But seriously, no damsel in distress. It’s lazy and dated storytelling/characterization. Y’all can do better.

If Link doesn’t talk, that should be explained narratively. Since this is a movie, Nintendo really should commit to Link being a character and develop him as one as he can’t merely be an avatar of the player here.
Click to expand...

I really hope Zelda is either "I never wanted to be a Princess, nevermind Queen, let me read my books and leave me ALONE." or "I'm the Princess Regent two months out from coronation, I'm the descendent of our very Goddesses and I WILL kill you and laugh about it if you oppose me."

They went with option one for BOTW and it suited. TOTK was garbage in large part for character assassinating Zelda as brutally as could be conceived. Option 2 was as you pointed out... Explored before, in another context 😵‍💫
 
This depends on the Link, but I guess my answer is he needs to be portrayed sincerely. It’s like Superman, any attempt to portray him with irony or anything less than a heroic, well meaning personality will not feel like the character. He can be playful, or mischievous as a child, and he can grow into the role, but Link is a quintessential Hero, the most quintessential embodiment of the archetype in all of video games, and that must be respected.
 
WestEgg said:
This depends on the Link, but I guess my answer is he needs to be portrayed sincerely. It’s like Superman, any attempt to portray him with irony or anything less than a heroic, well meaning personality will not feel like the character. He can be playful, or mischievous as a child, and he can grow into the role, but Link is a quintessential Hero, the most quintessential embodiment of the archetype in all of video games, and that must be respected.
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Counterpoint:

Punny chaos gremlin is canon.

Gets nearly naked, stands on war planning table and throws milk at people may debatably be non-canon, but he sure can do it without it feeling "not like Link"; Link can already do that.

A respectful representation of Link is one who thinks "Seal the deal" is funny and worth bringing up in a formal setting.
 
Concernt said:
Counterpoint:

Punny chaos gremlin is canon.

Gets nearly naked, stands on war planning table and throws milk at people may debatably be canon, but he sure can do it without it feeling "not like Link"; Link can already do that.

A respectful representation of Link is one who thinks "Seal the deal" is funny and worth bringing up in a formal setting.
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And that’s fine and non-contradictory because it’s literally the same Link who fought to his apparent death to defend Zelda in the Calamity, rescued the souls of the champions from a century of miserable isolation, put himself between Zelda and Ganondorf’s attack at the cost of his arm, and basically is always seen as the most courageous person in Hyrule.
 
WestEgg said:
And that’s fine and non-contradictory because it’s literally the same Link who fought to his apparent death to defend Zelda in the Calamity, rescued the souls of the champions from a century of miserable isolation, put himself between Zelda and Ganondorf’s attack at the cost of his arm, and basically is always seen as the most courageous person in Hyrule.
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Making a movie where all of the above happens, including the milk, would elevate it from merely a branding exercise to the truly Avant Garde.
 
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I just hope that they don‘t go the Spider-Man Route and have him constantly joking around.
 
There are so many different versions of Link with their own personality quirks. Like the games I think the Link will be what the story demands, so it's hard to think about how he will be when we know nothing of the setting. Though I would guess we'd get a more traditional Hyrule with a fair amount of influence from Ocarina of Time because of Ganondorf's rise to power/turning into Ganon would probably be the free space on my bingo card for a Zelda movie.

So if I had to guess, an extremely safe Link that doesn't veer too hard in any direction. Likely loves sleep, strong since of justice/duty, and gets asked an inordinate amount of significant yes or no questions. It's really more about how he'll talk specifically that I think trips most people up when they picture a live action Link.

If they made Link literally silent I think it'd probably be a terrible decision. We've had decades of Link talking through Manga and is shown to talk in the games, especially Skyward Sword.
 
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