(Left) Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Link in The Legend of Zelda’. Photo: Nintendo of America’s X account. (Right) Bo Bragason as Zelda in ‘The Legend of Zelda’. Photo: Nintendo of America’s X account.
Preview:
Bo Bragason and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth will play Zelda and Link in ‘The Legend of Zelda’.
‘The Maze Runner’s Wes Ball will direct the movie.
The original Nintendo game landed in 1986 and has become a big sensation.
Since it was first announced as in development back in 2023, Sony and Nintendo’s live-action adaptation of the latter’s hugely popular video game series ‘The Legend of Zelda’ has been quiet.
Partly that’s because chosen director Wes Ball was a little busy making ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’, but things have now taken a big step forward with word that the movie’s team have found their main duo –– Bo Bragason will play Zelda, while Benjamin Evan Ainsworth has won the role of Link.
kQaucbdN0NqBpCyxzOI8R3
The news came via a tweet from game co-creator Shigeru Miyamoto, who revealed image of the two young actors in costume.
The ‘Legend of Zelda’ game franchise, created by Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, first debuted via Nintendo in 1986. The game follows the elf-like warrior Link and Princess Zelda as they fight to save the magical land of Hyrule from Ganon, an evil warlord-turned-demon king.
Across the decades, the franchise has sustained as one of Nintendo’s most iconic, selling over 150 million units with multiple installments across various gaming consoles, one of the most famous behind 1998’s ‘The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.’
It has also spawned animated TV adaptations. With so much source material to draw upon, there’s big prospects for a sequel. But fans will have to wait and see which elements or storylines from the game will make it into a movie.
While Derek Connolly, who worked on the ‘Jurassic World’ movie trilogy, wrote the first draft of the script, it has since been through the hands of T.S. Nowlin, who collaborated with Ball on several ‘Maze Runner’ movies.
Who else is working on the movie adaptation?
‘The Legend of Zelda.’ Photo: Nintendo.
The film will be produced by Miyamoto, who these days is Representative Director and Fellow of Nintendo, and Avi Arad, Chairman of Arad Productions Inc, who has a number of big movies on his resume.
“This is Miyamoto. I have been working on the live-action film of ‘The Legend of Zelda’ for many years now with Avi Arad-san, who has produced many mega hit films. It will take time until its completion, but I hope you look forward to seeing it.”
This isn’t the first time someone has looked to adapt the ‘Zelda’ games. There was chatter that Nintendo would work on a series for Netflix, but that has so far not come to pass.
Speculation on casting for the project has been rampant, with many fans taking to social media to name ‘Euphoria’s Hunter Schafer as their pick for the part of Zelda. Deadline’s sources have said that Mason Thames and Brady Hepner were two other finalists for the role of Link.
Where else have we seen Bo Bragason and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth?
The latest installment in the ‘Planet of the Apes’ franchise comes centuries after Caesar’s reign. The story follows a young ape named Noa (Owen Teague) and his journey to free his clan from Proximus Caesar’s (Kevin Durand) tyrannical rule. The Apes epic is helmed by Wes Ball (‘The Maze Runner’).
In the film, the apes are the dominant species, and the humans are reduced to living in shadows. Noa’s clan lives harmoniously until one day, a squad of gorillas attacks his village, leaving nothing but ruins and taking most of the clan into captivity. Noa must rescue his his family and friends, even if it means teaming up with a human.
The film premiered at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles on May 2nd, 2024, and arrived in theaters on May 10th. The movie received positive reviews, with an 80% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics and a 70% from the audience. The film opened to $58.5 million domestically and has since raked in over $170.7 million. Worldwide, the film grossed over $396.6 million, making ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ the third highest-grossing movie in the reboot franchise. The film has a runtime of 2 hours and 25 minutes.
Did you miss it in theaters? Don’t worry. The movie is now available for rent or purchase on digital for $19.99, respectively, on platforms such as Amazon, Apple TV, YouTube, Vudu, and more. For Hulu subscribers, the movie is now available to stream on the platform. Additionally, all nine films in the ‘Planet of the Apes’ franchise are currently streaming on the platform, including the original film from 1968.
Currently, there are no official announcements from the studio for a sequel to ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’. However, director Wes Ball eluded in an interview with Variety that this film is the first in the trilogy. When asked if there’s an intention to do two more, Ball replied, “Yeah, three is a good number.”
Wes Ball is also set to direct the ‘Legend of Zelda’ movie, an extremely popular and beloved video game.
For physical media lovers, ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ will be available on DVD, Blu-Ray, and 4K Ultra HD on August 27 and will include bonus features and delete scenes such as:
Inside the Forbidden Zone: Making Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Documentary
14 Deleted/Extended Scenes with optional audio commentary by Wes Ball
The Blu-Ray will include “Inside the Lens: The Raw Cut”, and will feature a full length alternate cut with a split screen that compares the final cut with an unfinished VFX version. For collectors, there will be a 4K ultra HD steelbook available at retailers such as Amazon, Target, and Walmart.
Watch the official trailer for ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ below:
jhaTCQf7
The official synopsis for ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ is below:
Director Wes Ball breathes new life into the global, epic franchise set several generations in the future following Caesar’s reign, in which apes are the dominant species living harmoniously and humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all that he has known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike..
Who’s In the Cast of ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’
Nearly six decades and 10 films in, the ‘Planet of the Apes’ saga remains a fan favorite and an iconic sci-fi franchise. It’s easy to see why: with its consistently compelling central premise and many of its best films combining interesting ideas with terrific visuals and a genuinely weird atmosphere, the ‘Apes’ films stand alone among other sci-fi properties in terms of originality, social commentary, and story potential.
‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,’ the fourth film in the rebooted storyline that began with 2011’s ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes,’ mostly continues the high standard of quality set by that film and its two follow-ups, 2014’s ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ and 2017’s ‘War for the Planet of the Apes.’ It smartly plays off the narrative of those previous three movies, while starting its own new storyline with a brand-new cast of characters. While pacing issues and an underdeveloped subplot keep it from the upper tier of ‘Apes’ entries, ‘Kingdom’ is still a worthy installment that should leave fans largely satisfied.
Centuries after the legendary Caesar (Andy Serkis) – an ape whose intelligence was enhanced by a viral drug, sparking the rise of the apes and the fall of humanity – led his people to freedom in a paradise-like valley at the end of ‘War for the Planet of the Apes,’ offshoots of Caesar’s original group live in rural, isolated communities of their own. As ‘Kingdom’ opens, one such tribe — called the Eagle Clan due to their training of eagles for hunting — prepares for a ceremony in which younger members must retrieve an eagle’s egg in a coming-of-age ritual.
One of those young members, Noa (Owen Teague), is troubled by both his ability to complete the ritual and also the fleeting human figure he sees lurking around him – especially since humans are feral and their presence discouraged. But all that is set aside when Noa stumbles upon a squad of aggressive gorillas from outside his clan, armed with electrical prods, and inadvertently leads them back to his village. The attack decimates the village, with members of Noa’s family and two of his closest friends among the survivors who are taken captive.
Determined to rescue them, Noa heads out in pursuit and soon finds himself accompanied by Raka (Peter Macon), a wise orangutan who schools Noa in the story of Caesar, whose exploits are still legendary but have become partially forgotten with the passage of time. Also on the trail with them is the human woman (Freya Allan) who has shadowed Noa, and whom Raka names “Nova” in the first of several series Easter eggs (“We call them all Nova – I don’t know why”).
Their quest leads to a stronghold on the coast ruled by Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand), a tyrannical bonobo who has twisted Caesar’s teachings and aims to bring all apes under his rule – with the help of long-abandoned human weapons that he is doggedly trying to locate.
There are many fascinating ideas at work in ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,’ with the main one being the idea – first suggested in ‘War’ by the character Bad Ape – that different ape societies have sprung up and may not always have each other’s best interests at heart. The concept of history repeating itself – only this time in a simian civilization, not a human one – is a sturdy underpinning for a new ‘Apes’ adventure, since the series has always delved into (sometimes heavy-handed) social commentary and outright satire.
The other intriguing idea is that of the remnants of human civilization being left lying around for ambitious or curious apes to pick up – including, of course, weapons. Echoes of everything from classic ‘Star Trek’ to earlier ‘Apes’ entries to even recent Marvel films (remember all that tech that the Chitauri left behind after ‘The Avengers’?) abound in this premise. But the tragic aspect of this – that peaceful apes could be wiped out by human devices still capable of destruction after all these years – is perhaps not given the depth it should have.
One other element of the plot – the fate of the remaining humans on the planet – is also not as fully fleshed out as it could be. This delves into spoiler territory, and plays into the film’s closing scenes (which do not quite hit as hard as they could), so we won’t go into detail. But the Nova character and another human played by William H. Macy are both less and more than what they seem, a plot point that doesn’t quite make sense in the larger context of the film.
Despite the script’s shortcomings in these areas, which are bothersome but not deadly, we’re left with an otherwise mostly rousing action-adventure. Some of the action sequences, such as the initial attack on the Eagle Clan’s village and a battle inside a rushing deluge of water, are sensationally staged.
Another sequence – apes hunting primitive humans – is a deliberate homage to the same classic sequence in the original 1969 ‘Planet of the Apes,’ right down to certain shots and passages from Jerry Goldsmith’s iconic, Oscar-nominated score. Director Wes Ball (‘The Maze Runner’) does not quite bring the same emotional depth to the material as ‘Dawn’ and ‘Rise’ director Matt Reeves or even ‘Rise’ helmer Rupert Wyatt, but he is an experienced shooter who occasionally flags in the film’s pacing but brings an electricity to its best scenes.
Credit is due also to director of photography Gyula Pados, who shoots some strikingly beautiful scenes, and production designer Daniel T. Dorrance, who creates an initially tranquil yet eerie world in which the apes literally build atop human ruins.
Just like the previous three entries in the series, ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ is also bolstered by a fine cast and strongly delineated characters – at least on the simian side. While it’s hard to top the majesty and poignancy of Andy Serkis’ groundbreaking work as Caesar, Owen Teague (‘It’) shows here that he is quite capable of bringing a non-human character to life through the continually evolving craft of performance capture.
His Noa is familiar in some ways – a youth who want to prove himself to his parents (especially his father) and whose curiosity about the world around him lands him in trouble – but he’s also intelligent, compassionate, determined and ultimately courageous. Noa evolves over the course of the story into a potential ape leader himself, and Teague’s performance is both wonderfully expressive and physical.
Peter Macon and Kevin Durand are also quite formidable respectively as Raka and Proximus Caesar. Macon’s Raka serves as the conscience of the film, schooling Noa in Caesar’s philosophy while he rues the way it’s been largely forgotten and ultimately distorted by the likes of Proximus (Raka is also introduced as being dedicated to finding and preserving ancient human books, a calling that’s all too relevant in this age of relentless attempts at book banning). Like Noa, Raka is also brave, endearing but also funny, a welcome counterpart to Caesar’s advisor Maurice in the earlier films.
Kevin Durand, a favorite character actor of ours for a while, offers a full-throated performance as Proximus, who thinks he is keeping the legacy of Caesar alive even while he’s destroying it. But Proximus isn’t a one-dimensional despot: he’s more intelligent than he lets on, cunning and transactional, and convinced he’s got the best intentions of his people at heart, even if he’s a delusional megalomaniac.
Supporting ape characters – like Caesar’s friends Soona (Lydia Peckham) and Anaya (Travis Jeffery) — are aided tremendously, as all the ape characters are, by the strides made by Weta FX in visualizing the apes, along with the work of Serkis (who acted as a consultant) and movement coach Alain Gauthier. While a few longer shots look a tad rough, the character work, facial expressions, and up-close movement of the apes continue to be extraordinarily effective (including the shots of apes immersed in water).
Less impressive are both Freya Allan and William H. Macy in the main human roles. Much of the central plot hinges on Allan’s Nova (whose real name is Mae) but the actor simply doesn’t have the gravitas or sense of experience to carry it, while Macy’s relatively brief appearance is more or less one-note and fails to satisfactorily answer some of the questions raised by Josh Friedman’s screenplay.
The ‘Apes’ franchise elicits strong reactions from its fans: the original five films are loved for their originality, imagery, and weirdness, even if some of them are hokey and juvenile, while the films of the 2010s are respected for the quality of the filmmaking and the depth of their storytelling (the less said about Tim Burton’s forgettable 2001 remake, the better). In a way, fans appreciate the films for their flaws as well as their strengths.
‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ lands squarely in the middle of the pack. It doesn’t quite achieve the greatness of the series’ best entries, but as the fourth film of the current run, it still sets this franchise apart by developing interesting characters and wrestling with intriguing ideas about society, morality, history, and science. That’s more than a lot of Hollywood tentpoles can say. While there are some holes in its narrative structure that leave the film feeling a bit undercooked, ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ still provides an often rousing new chapter in a still-fascinating saga.
‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ receives 7 out of 10 stars.
BpuUJgMCZye2tUP8ysYd46
What is the plot of ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’?
Centuries after the collapse of human civilization and the rise of the legendary ape revolutionary Caesar, intelligent apes live in small, isolated communities while feral humans remain scattered throughout the land. When a tyrannical bonobo leader captures his tribe using human technology, a young chimp named Noa (Owen Teague) sets out to rescue them, accompanied by a mysterious human woman (Freya Allan).
Who is in the cast of ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’?
Nintendo and Sony have a ‘Legend of Zelda’ movie in the works.
‘The Maze Runner’s Wes Ball will direct the movie.
The original game landed in 1986 and has become a big sensation.
With ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ proving to be a smash hit in theaters ($1.36 billion and counting), and ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s also successfully mining the video game genre, it was only a matter of time before other game characters made the leap to movie screens.
And with Nintendo’s massive catalogue of potential source materials, other studios are following in Universal’s footsteps hoping to strike it rich.
This time, it’s Sony forging a partnership with the game company, splitting financial input with the game giant for a ‘The Legend of Zelda’ movie, based on the successful series. And unlike ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’, the ‘Zelda’ film will be live-action.
What’s the story of ‘The Legend of Zelda’?
‘The Legend of Zelda.’ Photo: Nintendo.
While Derek Connolly, who worked on the ‘Jurassic World’ movie trilogy, is aboard to write the script, there are no details about the storyline for the movie yet, or how it will draw from the games.
The game, created by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, and originally launched in 1986, follows the elf-like warrior Link, and magical Princess Zelda, as they fight to save the magical land of Hyrule from Ganon, an evil warlord turned demon king.
It has spawned multiple entries across different platforms and animated TV adaptations. With so much source material to draw upon, there’s big prospects for a sequel. But fans will have to wait and see which elements or storylines from the game will make it into a movie.
Wes Ball, who directed the ‘Maze Runner’ movies and has other experience with existing material, as he’s the filmmaker behind the latest ‘Planet of the Apes’ film.
The film will be produced by Miyamoto, who these days is Representative Director and Fellow of Nintendo, and Avi Arad, Chairman of Arad Productions Inc, who has a number of big movies on his resume.
“This is Miyamoto. I have been working on the live-action film of ‘The Legend of Zelda’ for many years now with Avi Arad-san, who has produced many mega hit films. It will take time until its completion, but I hope you look forward to seeing it.”
This isn’t the first time someone has looked to adapt the ‘Zelda’ games. There was chatter that Nintendo would work on a series for Netflix, but that has so far not come to pass.
When will ‘The Legend of Zelda’ be in theaters?
As of now, the film doesn’t yet have a release date. Which is hardly surprising, since it doesn’t have a cast in place, or a single foot of film shot.
It’s no surprise that Disney would view the ‘Apes’ films as an important asset in its stable – originally adapted from Pierre Boulle’s novel, the 1968 original film featured Charlton Heston as astronaut George Taylor, who crash lands on a mysterious planet where intelligent apes rule and savage humans are their slaves.
That movie ends with one of the biggest and most famous twists in science fiction history (spoiler alert for those who have not watched it and somehow don’t know): the planet is Earth in the far future, where mankind has ruined civilization and apes have risen to dominate.
‘Planet of the Apes’ was a big hit, spawning a franchise of several follow-up films and a TV series.
1968’s ‘Planet of the Apes.’
In 2011, Fox started charting how humans fell with ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ directed by Rupert Wyatt, which switched the origin for mankind’s problems to a virus spreading across the globe. Andy Serkis donned performance capture gear to play main ape Caesar.
‘The Maze Runner’ director Wes Ball landed the job of handling the next film in the series, and since jumping aboard in 2019, he’s been writing the script and figuring out how to follow in Matt Reeves’ footsteps, working with VFX experts to design the various ape characters and more.
Screenplay-wise, Ball has ‘War of the Worlds’ Josh Friedman (who more recently worked on a little movie called ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’), ‘Prey’s Patrick Aison and Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (the writers behind ‘Rise’ and ‘Dawn’ from the most recent trilogy) on hand. The story this time turns the clock forward to years after the time of Andy Serkis’ Caesar.
“‘Planet of the Apes’ is one of the most iconic and storied science fiction franchises in film history, as well as being an indelible part of our studio’s legacy,” says 20th Century president Steve Asbell. “With ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ we are privileged to continue the series’ tradition of imaginative, thought-provoking cinema, and can’t wait to share Wes’ extraordinary vision for this new chapter with audiences in 2024.”
So… yes. The ‘Apes’ world will be back in a couple of years.
Andy Serkis as Caesar in 2011’s ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes.’
74sH6aD7KQSYNVIipKJcQ6
Don’t expect Owen Teague to demand that any “damn dirty” apes get their “paws” off him in the next iteration of the ‘Planet of the Apes’ movie franchise. Because he’s playing the lead simian.
Since Disney bought 20th Century Fox, the studio has been looking to keep the successful ‘Apes’ franchise going following the most recent trilogy.
‘The Maze Runner’ director Wes Ball landed the job of handling the next film in the series, and since jumping aboard in 2019, he’s been writing the script and figuring out how to follow in Matt Reeves’ footsteps, working with VFX experts to design the various ape characters and more.
This July, he kicked off the extensive casting process required to full the main roles and according to Deadline, Teague impressed the director and studio bods with his audition, leading to a swift deal to play the primary ape.
Ball’s search is ongoing for people to play other Apes and the scattered human survivors as the story continues, though exactly what that will be is a mystery for now as all involved are keeping the plot a strict secret.
It’s no surprise that Disney would view the ‘Apes’ films as an important asset in its stable – originally adapted from Pierre Boulle’s novel, the 1968 original film featured Charlton Heston as astronaut George Taylor, who crash lands on a mysterious planet where intelligent apes rule and savage humans are their slaves.
1968’s ‘Planet of the Apes.’
That movie ends with one of the biggest and most famous twists in science fiction history (spoiler alert for those who have not watched it and somehow don’t know): the planet is Earth in the far future, where mankind has ruined civilization and apes have risen to dominate.
‘Planet of the Apes’ was a big hit, spawning a franchise of several follow-up films and a TV series.
In 2011, Fox started charting how humans fell with ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ directed by Rupert Wyatt, which switched the origin for mankind’s problems to a virus spreading across the globe. Andy Serkis donned performance capture gear to play main ape Caesar.
Whatever name the new movie carries will likely extend Caesar’s legacy (second spoiler alert: he dies at the end of ‘War’) and show the next evolution of the apes’ rise to power.
As for Teague, he saw success with two Stephen King adaptations, playing a bully in the ‘It’ movies and nabbing a role in the latest TV version of ‘The Stand’. He’ll be back on screens in Netflix thriller ‘Reptile’ and Nicole Holofcener’s next film, ‘Beth & Don.’
The stars of “Maze Runner: The Scorch Trails” throw vanity to the wind.
Sweaty, exhausted and shaky, the actors find themselves on the run In the second installment of author James Dashner’s young adult fiction dystopian thriller, where a group of teens attempt to establish a functioning society after they’re transported into an intricate maze.
To make the action look convincing, the actors were put through the paces.
“When you see us in the movie running up those sand dunes and running up that desert—that’s us, that’s not CGI, that’s not stunt people,” Dexter Darden tells Made in Hollywood. “Through the training and through our director he kind of wanted that real vibe, of us struggling and tired. So he would allow us to do all the stunts and that really helped out.”
“Two weeks before production we would train with a stunt team,” Ki Hong Lee explains. “They had us doing parkour, they had us doing laps, runs, sprints—all in sand.”
The thought of being trapped in a never-ending maze is dreadful and tiring – and according to critics, so is the latest installment of Wes Ball’s dystopian sci-fi, “Maze Runner.”
“Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials” takes main character Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) on a hunt to the desolate area of Scorch, to find clues about a powerful organization. Rotten Tomatoes gives the action-adventure film a 48 percent rating, and reviewers unanimously agree there was not a lot of thought put into the plot.
“‘Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials’ is larger than its predecessor, last year’s ‘The Maze Runner,’ in every way: in its cast, scope, set pieces and (unfortunately) length. But ‘more’ also means more convoluted. The mythology in these dystopian young adult novels-turned-films can be dense at times, but ‘Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials’ crams in more lore, supporting characters, backstories and motivations to the extent that it becomes difficult to get a grasp on anything.” — Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com
“‘The Scorch Trials’ is merely an overly action-packed sequel so generically executed that its characters muster all the personality of jack rabbits on the loose … O’Brien, the star of TV’s ‘Teen Wolf,’ projects the proper amount of stoic leadership as Thomas, but there’s not much personal chemistry between him and [Kaya] Scodelario’s Teresa. For that matter, none of these characters receives enough screen time to develop relationships with us or each other.” — Dann Gire, DailyHerald.com
Plot aside, some critics at least give the actors an A for effort.
“Around the film’s midpoint, along comes exactly what and who is needed: an actor who can chew it up without slowing it down. All hail Giancarlo Esposito as Jorge, leader of the Cranks. Later, when warring factions take to the hills, Barry Pepper and Lili Taylor pop up as revolutionaries, simultaneously wild-eyed and sympathetic. Adapted by T.S. Nowlin, the material may be cardboard, but the actors do what they can.” — Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
