Netflix and Nintendo developing The Legend of Zelda live-action TV series
Source claims it’s Game of Thrones with a family bent - wait, that doesn’t sound right
Are you sitting down, nostalgic Nintendo fans? Well, you’d better be, because a report out this evening claims that the legendary game company is planning a live-action Legend of Zelda television series.
And it’s coming to Netflix, says the Wall Street Journal, citing a report on the matter. Netflix has already had tremendous success with its original series, and has more recently been getting into notable pop culture licenses – like Marvel’s Daredevil, due out in April.
Netflix reportedly sees the show as an opportunity to create a Game of Thrones-like fantasy hit with more of a broader family target in mind. Of course, the Zelda series has long been an all-ages affair, from its origins on the original NES to its upcoming open-world Wii U entry (pictured).
If this sounds like a traditionally very un-Nintendo-like thing to do, you’re absolutely right. The Japanese company dabbled with cartoon series – including one season of The Legend of Zelda – and the terrible live-action Super Mario Bros. movie in the late 80s/early 90s, but then became very conservative with licensing its properties for adaptations.
More recently, however, with Nintendo’s hardware and software businesses diminishing from their Wii and Nintendo DS heyday, the company has shown much more interest in merchandising its popular brands. The recent Amiibo NFC chip-equipped figurines have been a notable moneymaker and huge point of fan interest.
The report says work on the series is still very early – so much so that a writer hasn’t even been secured. And it’s entirely possible that Nintendo or Netflix won’t want to see the project through once it takes shape. But considering how fans are losing their minds right now over this news (seriously, check Twitter), we don’t see much downside to making this happen.
[Source: The Wall Street Journal]
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Andrew Hayward
Freelance Writer 
