Check out Zeltik's part of the theory: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/fdSWlMt3usnYcX0.html Special thanks to Johnny Peacock and RwanLink! Have a great rest of your weekend everyone ^^

Since Gerudo males are born every 100 years, yet there hasn't been one in recent memory by the time of BOTW; it could hint that Ganondorf indeed became a lich and never died. Thus preventing the rebirth of a new Gerudo male, because the previous one never died to renew the cycle.

Ganondorf: “This isn’t even my final form”

The idea of Ganondorf’s “transformation” being of his own will is compelling. I remember when I first saw the preserved sheikah monks I thought immediately of sokushinbutsu, Shingon Buddhist monks who would mummify themselves whilst still alive to keep their spirits in this world. Perhaps Ganondorf performed a bastardised, wicked perversion of this ritual?

A small detail that I think is interesting, is that the EX Ganon armor set is scattered in the faron region, as are the Zonai ruins.

Plot twist: Ganondorf’s phylactery is a cucco, making himself invulnerable

Ganondorf: makes his phylactery a pot Link: exists Also Ganondorf: instantly dies

I think it’d be really interesting if this iteration of Ganondorf was actually a victim in this conflict. A monster created by the royal family’s hubris and attempts to control both the secrets of Sheika technology and the warrior king of the Gerudo.

Ganon could also have woken up as a reaction to the presence of the triforce as he is, or was one of the wielders of a third of it. Also, you guys mentioned that creating a lich requires a sacrifice and the Zonai disappeared suddenly, what if the sacrifice was the lives or souls of the entirety of the Zonai race.

Calamity Ganon: *Gets destroyed twice* Ganondorf: Fine, I'll do it myself

Imagine if Ganon made the Triforce of Power his Phylactery...

I think it would be really cool to see Ganondorf break the Master Sword in botw2. Like a demonstration of his power in this game. Almost like Hela destroying Thor's hammer; everyone thought it was unbreakable.

It's so crazy to imagine the Entirety of the Zelda Series up until this point has just been a blink in the larger timeline thanks to Botw. It's comparable to the Human timeline IRL. We've got recorded history that dates back to around 10,000 years ago. It would be like if in our timeline, some great entity of evil was sealed away just over 10,000 years ago and we've just completely forgotten about it over the years.

That "until now" actually gave me chills

I'm glad I could help with the Ganondorf's renders! Amazing video Monster Maze!

I hope Koume and Kotake make an appearance, as part of the lore. Since they were the ones who raised Ganon (at least in Ocarina) it would serve a good opportunity to give Ganon some character building, which has only been slightly teased in WW before.

Yo that new intro is so slick.

Ganon's phlactory might also be his trident. The cave painting depicts him using a trident on horseback, and the trident has always been Beast Ganon's weapon of choice. That would be a really weird boss battle. Not striking Ganon, but rather his weapon of destruction.

Here is new Theory, Ganondorf did this to him self to remove the curse/reincarnation. Removing malice from Ganondorf which is part of Demise. Zonai was only ones that could remove it, but curse was too strong.

A thing that's been making me curious is how similar I feel this mummified Ganondorf is in concept to the monks. Both simply continue to exist. The monks fade into a similar colour as the hand so who knows? We don't know for sure who might have helped with the shrines, so perhaps we're getting an answer. :3

It’s been a while since I played Skyward Sword, but if I’m remembering correctly, Demise’s soul was sealed into the Master Sword. And since Ganandorf is a reincarnation of Denise’s hatred, perhaps the game will end with Link destroying the Master Sword? The Master Sword mat very well be Ganondorf’s Phylactery.

Maybe the zonai baited Ganondorf into the temple "made for him" so they could seal him. But in true Ganondorf's fashion, he used it to his favor.

Exciting stuff Don!!

I have the game and he couldn't be more wrong, but I respect the effort put into this.

I had a thought, Just because he's a lich, it doesn't mean he wasn't sealed when we saw him in the trailer. He had his followers build the temple we see and tried to use it to become a lich, but said followers realized what he was doing and objected. maybe they didn't like the idea of being led by an undead, maybe they discovered he would drain them, maybe they thought he was a god and realized a god wouldn't need such a ritual. So they interrupted the ritual, or possibly got the shiekah or an ancient incarnation of Link to stop it. They created a seal unlike the seals we have seen previously. Given the appearance of the hand, it may be made from the soul or souls of the hero/sheikah who opposed him. They placed it on Gannondorf while he was performing the ritual of becoming a lich, which caused the magic to backfire and froze both him and the person sealing him in the moment of sealing. But Gannondorf had enough power for his malice to leak out or to erode the seal over untold milennia, causing what we see in the first BOTW and allowing him to break free entirely in 2. Which means he destroyed the kingdom of hyrule with only a fraction of the power he will have now that he's released. maybe not as a full lich, but still far more powerful than anything we've faced so far.

But we already know what Ganondorf's phylactery is. At the end of skyward sword, when Demise fell, his essence was sealed away. The weapon used to defeat the Great King of Evil time and time again is the very thing ensuring his continued existence. Ganondorf's phylactery is the Master Sword.

the contents of this video, coupled with the fact that the Master Sword isn't seen past their encounter with Ganondorf under Hyrule Castle, leads me to only one conclusion: the ritual transforming Ganondorf into a lich wasn't finished until Link brought the Master Sword to him, at which point he chose it as his phylactery

Although he first had a character model in Ocarina of Time, he is mentioned in both the backstory AND by the Maiden saved from the Swamp Palace in A Link to the Past. His full name was given as "Ganondorf Dragmire" in the English version of the manual, as well as the alias, "Mandrag Ganon" or "Ganon of the Enchanted Thieves".

Ganondorf using the tribe as ritual sacrifice brilliantly complements Zeltik's theory-that the Zonai were not "evil" followers of Ganon but instead saw his power as Godlike-and also explains why the Zonai spirits would be helping Link (arm, magic) in the sequel: revenge; justice. Supposedly the Zonai followed, worshipped, and were manipulated by Ganon, revering him as a God, pledging him loyalty, and building massive sacred chambers in his image, only for this false God to rally them into a ritual and ruthlessly dispose of their entire tribe, forcing them to act as a sacrifice for his own immortality; an entire culture imprisoned underground, their spirits resigned to being an eternal fuel for Ganon's burning hatred. So when Link-a hero with an unbreakable spirit; a courage which can never be forgotten-stumbles upon this hallowed ground and awakens Ganondorf (losing Zelda and the Master Sword in the process), the lingering, vengeful spirits of the Zonai take this Hero's hand and the two unite, relying on each other, advancing vindictively to bring the Demon King to justice.

Nintendo: 99 second trailer Dom: hours of theories

Botw2 storyline is going to be the best in the series, anything is bound to happen, you guys hit the nail on this one. At the end of twilight princess we never saw where ganondorf ended up , in four swords adventures another ganondorf was born but sealed in the sword. This will be worth the 2022 release.

The only thing that I’m really curious about is that traditionally liches require soul sacrifice to maintain themselves. That’s why they’re so inherently evil, they sustain themselves off the suffering of others. Does that mean he gets enough power to live by simply harassing Hyrule every 10 thousand years?? Dude that’s nuts.

I'd imagine if Ganon remembers all of his reincarnations because he was getting sealed away instead of dying he would %100 go mad trying to figure out a way to break the cycle.

What if, just as the heads of the Yiga turned on Ganon when he betrayed them in Age of Calamity, the Leader of the Tribe turned on him when he began absorbing the souls of the Zonai? Sealing him in place. Hence why he's sealed with the hand and only moves into action against Hyrule and the castle after the hand is removed. The sky islands could be an offshoot of the Tribe that survived, leaving behind their architecture and writing (old culture) out of shame.

“He can move, he just has no reason to” Same

This has got to be the BEST theory I have heard yet. There is so much research and detail it's so thought out!

Dude this is the first time someone mentioned him being a Lich, but it makes so much sense. He literally sends a shadow of himself to fight you while he escapes a time prison and uses magic to create “Zombie-Golems”

Me at the beginning of the video: What a dumb theory. No way this could be true. Me at the end of the video: ...you know they have a point.

Don’t forget that Ganondorf remembers his past lives!!! So he does accumulate knowledge

Good stuff indeed. Personally i do believe he was sealed against his will and im thinking it comes from one of two possible scenarios in my head. One being a copy paste of the wind waker scenario when ganondorf shows up and there's no link at that point in time so other forces deal with him, seal him away. My other theory is more of a crackpot theory, but i realize it could actually happen if Nintendo wanted to finally establish a clear timeline. Especially since skyward sword hd just released. What if at some point in the zelda series timeline, zelda or link or both become privy to demises curse. Think about it. The goddess human form (zelda) seems to always reincarnate in some form, as do some form of hero(link) and ganondorf, who even if slain, is eventually reborn, reincarnate d due to the curse. What if they realized this fact, and theorized at that point in time that killing ganon would only allow him reincarnate later, thus continuing the cycle so they decide to seal him away, turn him into a brain dead vegetable, or in his case an mostly inescapable stasis. He cant reincarnate if hes not actually dead.

Now we know the Goat sealed him.

I mean. Ganondorf could be Demise's phylactery. A living horcrux, per se. Would explain why ganondorf seems to only rarely and briefly be able to actually think through and explain his own motivations, and show regret.

A new hyrule gamer video AND a monster maze video?? This day just keeps getting better!

Very well thought out and articulated theory. Raising my hype levels for botw 2 Nicely done :)

I think the theory about the phylactery is pretty accurate. The music playing in the teaser where we first see Gannon, if it’s reversed, it can be heard saying, “Poor Hyrule, for Link has found the body”.

this entire theory is one of the few that seems to add up the most based off of everything else people have been discovering. I like the idea itself as well, and leads well into a possible "redemption" of the Zonai in the sequel. I theorize now that the robot frog dude you find is whats left of the last of the Zonai, whom will inform Link of the truth.

I love the lich theory. I've always been a big fan of emphasizing Ganondorf's unparalleled capacity as a sorcerer over the obvious physical might. Back in my own theorizing days back on Nintendo forums, I hypothesized that his magical ability may have allowed him to "hold on" to the triforce of power despite his physical deaths, facilitating his reincarnation. With the possible exception of the Wind Waker, we've never known the triforce to "for sure" be separated from his soul.

I LOVE the lich theory. It makes so much sense to me, even if it doesn't play out that way. I also loved the point that someone made in the comments about the fact t hat there hasn't been a male gerudo in a very long time. That would go with it for sure.

Well this didn’t age well..

Every time I hear the lich, I just think of fin yelling "the lich king" 😂😂😂

I honestly really hope this will end up being the case. It'd hold interesting story potential, and would make perfect sense, truly showing how desperate Ganondorf became. It'd also present a really cool way of dealing with him this time around, seeing as they wouldn't just be able to use the master sword to take him out, but instead would have to find the phylactery that he placed his soul in. This could possibly mean the destruction of Hyrule castle, if that's the spot where he transferred his soul.

Well done, all around. Just enjoying a fairly playful Zelda installment...and now I'm nerding out on lore videos like I did with the Elder Scrolls series. Looking forward to more videos!!

It's cool but these theories are always so much more thought out and interesting than what the story actually is.

1:41 Ganondorf: Now you face my True Power! Link: Alright Dark Beast Ganon hear we go! Ganondorf: Fool! Behold Galamity Ganon!

Something to keep in mind, that mummification causes flesh to shrink. So his mouth being open, lips pulled away from the teeth in an apparent scream isn't unusual. This could also cause his arms to draw up. We have mummies from Egypt that have some similar looks, and the bodies of Pompeii, which had their moisture removed quickly, ended up in the fetal position, or with their hands up in a "pugilist" sort of stance. And now that's a thing you know..

I think you are my favorite Zelda lore speaker. I enjoy your works immensely. Thank you for making me smile so much.

The master sword is the phylactery. "Sword that seals the darkness." The theory being the hand on his chest replaced the master sword in keeping him sealed, and worked pretty well since his actual soul is within the master sword, with Fi being the guardian like baast in Egyptian lore. Which is why the master sword can break and respawn in BoTW, because Ganondorfs corruption has weakened the magic within it. Further, it's why it won't break when you fight the four pieces of the calamity and calamity Ganon himself, because with each one you slay you actually are getting a piece of his soul back, and when link gets to his chamber that's why he awakens, because his soul has all the pieces returned to the ritual zone. It's not unbelievable that Ganon is this smart since he has done this before in ocarina of time, leaving the hero to open the sacred realm FOR him. In an effort to STOP him. I have more details for the theory and I'd love to discuss

having a lich in the zelda universe: >.< calling it an intellectual redead: :D

Okay, i have a little theory. The zonai use dragons a lot in their architecture, the only dragons we can see farosh, dinraal and naydra. Only people pure of heart can see these dragons, but if the zonai were on ganondorfs side how do they know dragons exist? Since if they were followers if Ganon they're not pure of heart

Honestly I think the Zonai did side with Ganon, but learned his true intentions and tried to seal only to fail and lose there souls doing so.

Two of my absolute favourite Zelda masterminds doing a video together that may very well be the most interesting and fresh Zelda theory video I've seen in a long time. Way to keep is fresh dudes! And your animation never cease to amaze me. You guys both rock. Thanks for making this otherwise shitty Tuesday bearable.

The mistranslation of the beast Ganon line from Zelda still irks me…NOA should’ve been very careful with that.

What if the green hand is the Phalactry? The ultimate insurance policy - you can't kill him, because his only weakness is attached to the hero.

I think that all the Ganon imagery is actually a warning. Like, "Don't come closer, big evil dude is here, seriously, stay away."

It's one of the most credible theories on the game i've seen so far. This is totally in character and taste for Ganondorf to do such a thing like you said. Plus we have fought many different types of undead ganondorf minions in all games he appears in. Like Skeletal Knigths in OOT or will' o' wisp and other flying skulls. Ganondorf's malice even animates skulls with malice in the Divine Beasts !

I know Ganondorf is almost always depicted with a jewel on his forehead, but traditional Jewish real-life phylacteries are strapped on the forehead in the exact same spot. Might be a bit of a stretch though :)

Oh boy, here i go getting scared by a video game again

Dude this was an amazing, well put together video!! I was entranced every moment, and the thought of Gannon returning is frickin' amazing. Loved this video man, keep up the awesome work!

This fits so well, bets are on your theory. Thank you so much Monster Maze and Zeltik! You two are masters at Zelda theory, I enjoy listening to what your fantastically thought out and researched theories.

Another brilliant, thorough and well reasoned theory. However, once again, I can't help but think that you Zelda theorists put far more thought into Zelda lore than the creators themselves 😂

It would have been a good theory had you not completely ignored the actions of the hand. Firstly, we see it reach out to save Link from a fatal fall. If this person had been an accomplice to Ganondorf's transformation they would not save the one person who posed a threat to their master. Next, we see the Malice reach up and attempt to corrupt Link but green energy, seemingly from this hand being, stalls the process and later even whisks Link off to recover on a sky island. You did address the issue of his desire to reincarnate but not throughly. If he did this to extend his life then somehow the Triforce of Power cannot sustain his body. While that is doubtful, let's set that aside. The fact remains that in both AoC and BotW he is seeking a new host body and this is a recurring theme in the Zelda series. If he was seeking a new body then it must have meant he was near death prior to this ritual. Yet the shadow silhouette clearly shows a muscular, healthy Gerudo man who isn't aged or weakened. Finally we have the room itself sitting amid a large ornate temple with a clear pyramid shape if you look at the trailer closer. This appears to be a callback to the Pyramid of Power which was Ganondorf's seat of power in other games. This room has not an alter but a dias suggesting it was somewhere Ganondorf would hold court. The Gerudo symbol on the platform indicates it had a connection to Ganondorf specifically. What this appears to be is a betrayal by someone close to Ganondorf. A double cross that has entrapped him but this hero/sage has reached a point where he can no longer constrain him.

If this isn't the story for breath of the wild 2 or at least part of it I'm going to be very upset because this theory makes a lot of sense

Zeltik + Monster Maze = perfection. Great pair of videos, can't wait for the next from each of you!

Let's go monster maze time

What if the original cycle branched off from hyrule after wind waker since everything was under water. So the zonai were the survivors of that and became the replacement for hyrulians, and the cycle of rebirth happened to them; they had their own warrior and princess born into their race. Ganon escaped his previous sealing and retained his memories, so was able to outwit the zonai - he knew they would attempt to seal him but used that against them to become a lich instead? The zonai had lost their knowledge & heritage from the flooding, so began worshipping the dragons; the dragons themselves align with the 3 goddesses & there was a hint of a memory there. The zonai forgot about ganon as it was believed he was gone for good, & so had their magic used against them to allow Ganon to preserve himself, & they sacrificed themselves in a desperate attempt to seal him, not knowing what Ganon had planned. The green hand still seems to me like it's trying to restrain Ganon. Perhaps he found a way to circumvent it. The cave paintings could be a warning of what would happen should Ganon ever escape?

i dont see a lot of theories where i not only think its plausible, but also think it would actually work in the story and i would be interested to see it happen. man, this would be so cool.

Thanks for the great theory video! I especially appreciate the intellectual honesty of citing priors/sources 🙏

Wow this actually kinda makes sense & it'd be sooo cool if Ganon actually is a lich!

Going to listen to this while folding laundry! 😂

Just a thought. Perhaps the reason Ganondorf wakes is he feels the other triangles of the Triforce and it reanimates him.

This is amazing. Y’all are so dedicated and saw so much from the trailer that I didn’t even comprehend. Truly amazing.

Just dropping a comment to say I love these collaborations between Zelda youtubers. I stumbled on Zeltik who led me to Nintendo Black Crisis and now Monster Maze. Tons of great content I'd miss otherwise. I subscribed and can't wait to dig through the back log. Excellent work on this one, guys!

There is at least one Lich in D&D who was made against their will. I know we're talking zelda here, but you did use D&D earlier as a point of reference.

The funny thing is when I first saw that Ganondorf I literally thought “Oh great now he’s an undead Lich this is going to be fun.”

My theory is on his last defeat they knew he would just come back and be reborn. So they decided that they hold him on the edge of death like they do with the monks and if he never dies he is never reborn. But over time his malice seeped through and that's what caused the calamity.

I think every zeltuber in history posted a video at that one particular minute xd

It's an interesting theory, but Ganondorf is already immortal. He already commands the monsters of the land. He already is able to effortlessly gain followers. Yes, the Lich holds great power, but he already possesses Power. Would Ganondorf really risk losing that Power, used in TP to describe him as a dark God, to become undead?

There were literally SO many moments where i audibly shouted "YOOOOO", primarily being the fact that his phalactery was (possibly) the castle, AND THEN AGAIN when you circled back to the zonai!!! this is so FUCKING cool omfg!!!! yall have some of FAVORITE content across youtube, period!!!!

I just realized why the green hand is there: It had to seal Ganon after the master sword was pulled out of his chest at some point in the past, and that must've been when the Calamities started as we can see malice slipping through its fingers

Astor was the one who took the Yiga souls Ganon took Astor’s soul

Imagine if Ganondorf decided to make his "Phylactery" the sun.

The definition of a phylactery made me think of Voldemort's Horcruxes. It would be cool if Ganondorf had several phylacteries, one for each dungeon.

Your work in one word: Outstanding!

11:18 Oh, hi there! Thought I'd stop by to say "Praise Joko!" XD

If you want a phylactery, the Master Sword itself. It has already been stated that the sword of evils bane is meant to seal the Demon King. Thus, would already contain Ganondorf's soul.

I was impressed with the animations and recreations. Well done everyone.

I watch you for your video quality, man, you never disappoint ❤

Awesome video! I think the fact that the monks and new Ganondorf look so similar is the best evidence he may have mummified himself on purpose. The artistic parallels are there!

The only problem with this theory is if this was intentional why would the hand save link and stop the malice from spreading further onto his body?

these two videos each being the first half and guide audience to the other just fit so well with the totk logo where two dragons eating each others tail as a loop