Would Nintendo ever make a movie based on The Legend of Zelda? Apparently, that's an idea that actually been discussed a few times: series producer Eiji Aonuma told Kotaku that he'd spoken to his colleague, famed game creator Shigeru Miyamoto, about creating a theatrical experience based on the storied franchise. However, if Nintendo were to make a Legend of Zelda movie, it would have to be an interactive experience, perhaps even one where you'd bring your 3DS handheld to the theatre and play — not wholly unlike Disney's new iPad experience for The Little Mermaid.
Here's what Aonuma said:
"If we were to make a Zelda title, if we had interest in doing that, I think really what would be most important to us is to be able to play with the format of a movie, make it more interactive, like you’re able to take your 3DS into the theater and that leads you into participating in it somehow. We wouldn’t want to make it the same as any other movie. We want to somehow change what a movie is."
Fans have certainly been clamoring for a movie for some time. In 2007, Imagi Animation Studios mocked up this CGI treatment, and in 2008 video game publication IGN pulled an elaborate April Fools' joke on readers with this mock live-action trailer.