Fan Theory: Zelda U May Create a New Timeline, A New World, Post Skyward Sword

Zelda fans are masters of over analyzing the Zelda series, often to great success in terms of predicting future events in the series. HMK from YouTube came up with a really interesting theory for Zelda U, suggesting that the timeline already has an inbuilt split from Skyward Sword, enabling Zelda U to take place there, and supported with some circumstantial evidence. Obviously, this is just a theory and no one but those involved with the Zelda team actually know. If you can’t watch the included video, here’s a basic summary:

In Skyward Sword, Link travels back in time to defeat Demise shortly after he was initially sealed away. Link then returns to the present as if nothing has changed. However, defeating Demise in the past for good can set off a chain of events – creating a future with Demise and a future without Demise, mostly supported by how the initial timeline split was created in Ocarina of Time. Now, the main timeline as it is today clearly happens after the traditional events in Skyward Sword, when Skyloft comes back down from the heavens. However, if Demise was defeated shortly after Skyloft had risen, the people could return to the land much sooner, thus reinhabiting and taking advantage of what the land had to offer for hundreds of years before Skyward Sword itself even happened. This means a new timeline is established from Skyward Sword where the game never occurs.

This explains why the land is lush, why there is more wildlife, and how Hylians and other inhabitants could take advantage of precious resources only available in the old days – such as time shift crystals. It could be that Ganondorf is a mentor to Link, rather than a foe. In fact, this would be almost a complete reset of the series in a way, allowing Nintendo to unbind from what the traditional timeline holds them to, allowing them to form a newer land and new traditions/mechanics. Obviously, this is all a theory, but it’s an interesting one to think about. There is much more presented in the video above.

Personally, I think this would be an interesting concept. If they want to break away from the traditions in the series, the easiest way to do this would be to establish yet another new timeline, one where they are free of practically all prior events, but still connected through a singular event in a prior game. Nintendo has shown they have no issues creating a new timeline just because, as the downfall timeline was invented to place games that didn’t otherwise fit the traditional split just right. They could easily make another where they can freely explore brand new ideas and concepts and break away from tradition. Whether or not that is accepted by the fan base has yet to be known. What do you think about this theory?