it has to be animated and have similiar visuals to BOTW/TOTK.
It’s not necessarily that it would be bad for it to have that art style, but there are a ton of Zelda games with different art styles prior to BOTW. I don’t like this idea that the visuals HAVE to be like the two newest games. Let whichever animation studio gets it cook, don’t force an art style on them.
Hell, while they probably wouldn’t do a big IP adaptation, I mentioned in another thread that a solid Zelda film by Studio Laika would slap (look at how dark they are willing to go with Coraline, Paranorman, and Kubo and the Two Strings). Yes, the art style would be unique from other Zelda games, but given how often they change styles, it fits with the franchise.
Regardless, let’s be real, it’s going to be a major US animation studio, I’m thinking Dreamworks is the likely bet (Illumination writers’ brains would explode from writing anything remotely serious), and it’s not going to be THAT close to the BOTW art style even if they use some of the character designs. Anyone hoping for an anime adaptation (at least as the first adaptation, I could see one happening later) is going to be disappointed, everything about the Mario movie was playing it as safe as humanly possible to maximize profit, I doubt Nintendo is going to alter that for Zelda by much. Yes, anime has gotten a LOT more closer to full on mainstream over the years, just look at the Demon Slayer film (an anime film grossing 50 million in the US seemed like a pipe dream a decade ago), but it’s still not at Disney/Pixar/Dreamworks/Illumination/etc. levels of mainstream.
And honestly, if they adapt a specific entry instead of an original story, I think Twilight Princess is the best bet for an actual solid film. Having Midna around Link for most of the story gives him someone to talk to in dungeon sections and the like. This is unless they adapt a game and alter the story to have someone, Zelda or someone else, by his side throughout most of the journey. I don’t think TP is the one they will adapt, but it would be what I wish for.