Nintendo gave itself 30 minutes on Tuesday, Sept. 8, and a promise to “deliver a variety of The Legend of Zelda related information.” That’s the kind of sentence a lawyer writes. But vague is the right call when you’re sitting on this much.
The Legend of Zelda turns 40 this year, and The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct is where the party finally starts.
If you doubt how much Nintendo can cram into one of these, go back and rewatch the 2020 Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary Direct, which dropped Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, Super Mario 3D All-Stars, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit and more in a single sitting. The Zelda version is easier to forecast. It should still have a few surprises tucked in.
Ocarina of Time is the headliner
The Switch 2 remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is supposed to launch sometime in the next few months, and Nintendo has said next to nothing about it since the tease.
So expect the full treatment: a real look at the visuals, a proper gameplay breakdown and a release date. Nintendo might hold back a few finer details for the Treehouse stream the following day, but the major bullet points belong here.
The movie trailer, and probably the cast
The Zelda film is slated for April 30, 2027, and so far we’ve seen almost nothing beyond a handful of official images. That changes Tuesday.
I’d put money on the Direct opening with Shigeru Miyamoto presenting the first trailer alongside an official cast reveal. That’s exactly how The Super Mario Bros. Movie was handled. Nintendo doesn’t abandon a playbook that works.
That leaked Switch 2 looks real
Convincing images of a Zelda-themed Switch 2 and Pro Controller surfaced online in August. The console comes with a dock, custom Joy-Cons and a big triforce splashed across it. The Pro Controller is gold and green.
Fakes happen. These don’t feel like fakes, given Nintendo’s long history with special edition hardware. And a fancy Switch 2 landing right after the console’s price increase took effect would be a tidy way to pull in new buyers. Sneaky!
Twilight Princess has nowhere else to go
Beyond those three, the contents of the stream are genuinely unclear. Some guesses are safer than others.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is the only mainline console Zelda game not currently available on Switch. That’s a conspicuous hole. Maybe it turns up in Switch Online's GameCube Classics catalog. Maybe we get a Super Mario 3D All-Stars style two-pack with the HD versions of Twilight Princess and Wind Waker.
I’d be shocked if it doesn’t arrive in some form to finish the collection.
Project Bernard, and the case for a surprise
Announcing a brand-new Zelda while Ocarina of Time is weeks from release sounds absurd. There’s a reason to entertain it anyway.
Back in May, leaker Nash Weedle claimed Nintendo is working on a new Zelda game with Grezzo, the studio behind The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. It’s codenamed Project Bernard, which fits Grezzo’s previous codenames like Project Edward, and it’s rumored to star Ganondorf. With the movie arriving in April and Nintendo’s fondness for pairing game releases with films, the timing lines up.
My one hesitation is the math. Echoes of Wisdom only launched in 2024, and there were five years between Grezzo’s Link’s Awakening remake and that game. Another full title three years later is ambitious.
Still, never say never.
Thirty minutes. Forty years. A gold and green Pro Controller nobody has officially confirmed exists.
