Daily Debate: Does the Director of the Zelda Movie Matter to You?

Back in May, we presented a pair of Daily Debates relating the recently released Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes to the upcoming live-action Zelda film — they share a director after all! While we could have done a better job with the timing of these articles — we were trying to capture some kneejerk reactions just as the first Apes reviews came in and then conduct a follow-up once people had a chance to see the film — we were entirely caught off guard by the general apathy these questions received. If there was a general consensus one could glean from the responses these debates elicited, it would be that the director attached to the upcoming Zelda film, and his body of work up to now, signal very little about the prospective quality of said Zelda film.

As one user succinctly put it: “It doesn’t matter who directs it.”

A few different justifications were offered for this perspective. A few commenters argued that, despite the fact that Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and the Zelda film will share the directorial work of Wes Bell, Planet of the Apes and The Legend of Zelda are ultimately “two very different IPs.” And because of these differences, a director’s success on one intellectual property will not necessarily translate to success on another. “The franchises are so wildly different that one being well done will have zero bearing on how the other is done,” we were told.

Some commenters emphasized the distinct worlds of these two long-running franchises to further this point. “A director successfully making a movie based on long running film series doesn’t mean he’s going to be good at adapting a long running video game series and turning it a live action film [sic],” one said. “Not to mention the world’s are drastically different. One is just a fairly normal world run by intelligent Apes, whereas the other is a fantasy world with deep lore and all kinds of different creatures and magics.”

Other comments argued that a film’s production companies and distributors, not its director, would have a greater impact on its quality. In the case of The Legend of Zelda, distributor Sony Pictures Entertainment and co-producer Avi Arad were singled out as greater points of concern. A director “doesn’t mean much, when it’s attached to Sony,” one commenter asserted. “Sony movies are 90 minute cringefests.”

Sony Pictures Entertainment is co-financing and distributing the Zelda film.

“Ball doesn’t concern me,” another admitted. “Everyone else involved in the production does. Hard to have a whole ton of faith when Avi Arad is controlling a lot of the funds [sic].” (Avi Arad produced most Marvel films from 1998 to 2008, as well as every Sony Pictures Spider-Man film.) While this user expressed faith in the knowledge that Nintendo would have a hand in the Zelda film’s production, “it doesn’t insure an all around quality end product [sic].”

When it comes to the strengths of director Wes Ball though, even those exhibited in his most recent film, some commenters argued that directors’ filmographies are too inconsistent for anyone to draw conclusions on upcoming projects.

“Why would Apes make me hopeful for Zelda?” one asked. “Like, I get it, dude directed Apes, and maybe it’ll be a James Gunn situation where he can continue a streak of solid entries [sic].” This user cited Peter Jackson’s work on both the critically acclaimed Lord of the Rings trilogy and the lackluster Hobbit trilogy, as well as Christopher Nolan’s work on both The Dark Knight and Tenet, to make their case. “I’m not downplaying the importance of the director. I’m downplaying the hype because the industry has shown us countless times that, given the exact same circumstances, things are of wildly different quality.”

While a few users did advocate the creative power held by film directors, most shared in the belief that other factors have a greater impact on a film’s ultimate quality, whether they be genre limitations or executive meddling.

In the end, I respect how this user put it: “It’s difficult to say what aspects of any movie, for better or worse, can be attributed to the director. Apes had its weaknesses, as all movies do, but that could have been him, it could have been the writers, producers, studio, or any number of factors. I think he used what he had at his disposal to the best of his ability, and being a lifelong Zelda fan, I have no doubt that he’ll want to make sure he does it right.”

I personally believe that Wes Ball will have positive impact on the Zelda film, regardless of its overall quality. Based on previous statements made by the director, it’s clear that he is very passionate about the Zelda series and that he will do all that he can to respect the series’ legacy. And looking at how well his last film was received, I think he’s shown that he has the right skills to bring Zelda to the big screen.

But where do you stand? Does the director attached to the upcoming Zelda film matter to you? Do you think it’s wise to look back on his past films to predict how he’ll handle his next? Are other factors in the movie-making process more important to a film’s quality? Join the debate in the comments below!

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