A classic Nintendo villain is back, more shredded than ever, & gaymers are ready to risk it all

Huzzah! Nintendo has just revealed the cover star for its annual Hyrule Hunks calendar and… er, wait, scratch that.

What we’re actually looking at here is the first official artwork of longtime Legend Of Zelda baddie, Ganondorf the mighty Demon King, in the newest Nintendo Switch game. And folks? He’s a beefcake!

The video game villain’s muscle-daddy makeover was revealed in tandem with the latest trailer for The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom, the Nintendo Switch’s sequel to 2017’s critically acclaimed Breath of The Wild.

The Zelda games, of course, have long been a staple of Nintendo’s empire, following the adventures of heroic twink Link has he explores dungeons, fights evil, and kisses up to the icon Princess Zelda.

But no matter where his quests take him, Link’s most fearsome foe has always been Ganondorf, a.k.a. Ganon, who has taken many forms over the years, depending on the game. He initially was more of an anthropomorphic pig beast before being reimagined as a dashing and devious humanoid (said to be modeled after Highlander hottie Christopher Lambert) in Nintendo 64’s Ocarina Of Time in ’98.

The latter version is the one perhaps most familiar to the casual gaymers out there, as that’s the Ganondorf who’s been a playable character in many of the Super Smash Bros. games and sure knows his way around around a Home-Run Bat, if you know what we mean.

And if that version of the Demon King had you shouting, “daddy!,” then get a load of the newly reimagined villain for Tears Of The Kingdom.

The flowing red locks? The flashy accessories? That broad chest and biceps bigger than his own head? That’s a whole lot of man right there.

Of course, between the man bun and the questionable tattoos, we’re a little worried he’s some aging hipster type, but these are things we’re willing to look past when the body’s that bangin’.

The reveal had the internet in shambles this morning, with “Ganondorf” even trending on Twitter for a while. On one hand, you have the Legend Of Zelda die-hards excited about the return of their favorite big bad. (We’re no gaming experts, but Polygon reports this is the humanoid version of the character’s first appearance in a “mainline” Zelda game in 17 years, since Twilight Princess.)

On the other hand, you’ve got just endless thirst from the girls, gays, and theys alike. One quick search on Twitter, and you’ll see people tweeting the most depraved and blatantly horny things about Ganondorf, the Demon King—and we love them for it.

Here are just a few of our favorites:

I CAN ALREADY SEE THE ART pic.twitter.com/05lfuxozZp— Evil Angela Bassett (@IzzyThunderIce) April 13, 2023

pic.twitter.com/hB8JSGEA1f— BadBread – just add Giffca already feh (@Caineluvr69) April 13, 2023

pic.twitter.com/5gNQuDmFQl— Merge Games Smalland: Survive the Wilds (@MergeGamesLtd) April 13, 2023

pic.twitter.com/tHAzVr9KU3— Tartagalicious (@SilverfoxCos) April 13, 2023

Bara artists, I thank you for all the art you’re about to make! pic.twitter.com/gAzTqOKq7p— Dr. Mike the Hulkling Stan (@DrMike23) April 13, 2023

Will Ganondorf flash even more skin in The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom? Time will tell! The Nintendo Switch game is set to hit stores everywhere on May 12.

You can watch its Tears Of The Kingdom‘s final trailer below: