[UPDATE; March 23] Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has commented on the rumors. Read his full statement here.
The original story is below.
Following on the success of original programming like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, a recent report suggests that Netflix may be expanding even further: shows based on video games.
A story posted in the Wall Street Journal today states that, "[Netflix] is in the early stages of developing a live-action series based on 'Zelda,' about an ordinary boy named Link who must rescue a princess named Zelda and save a fantasy world called Hyrule."
The article reports that, according to an unnamed source, Netflix is "working closely with Nintendo." However, there is currently no writer attached to the project.
The show could potentially tie-in to The Legend of Zelda Wii U game slated for sometime this year, or it could be a wholly original project. We've reached out to Netflix and Nintendo for comment and will update this story with more details as they're made available. But what would you like to see in a Hyrule-based show?
This is going to be pure awfulness.
Hey, well excuse me princess.
So many people think that this have to be like Game of Thrones, but I think that 'The Legend of Zelda' has a lot to give. It'd be awesome to have an ongoing stuff with a new demon king and Zelda with a lot more fighting power, and exploring Link and Zelda's past lives get a story twist in their era. I don't know, even a granted wish from the triforce would be interesting.
But no, a Game of Thrones-esque series is not what I'd want.
I'm going to be the first to say, it could POTENTIALLY be good, BUT they need to have a Game of Thrones budget, and a ridiculously good team of writers who don't butcher it.
Without a doubt, ADAM HENSLEE should play the role of Link!
www.adamhenslee.com
www.facebook.com/adamhensleefanpage
The idea sounds very interesting, but it all depends on the execution.
Street Fighter (to some) sounded like a good movie idea, but we all know what happened to that turd!
I don't expect this will actually ever see the light of day.
Interesting hopefully it goes good I have a lot of faith in Netflix...not so much in Nintendo.
I'm about to fall off my seat because people are complaining this shouldn't be a show... because they imagine basically the game, get some imagination lmao they will probably have a plot revolved around Hyrule and its characters that is not so game based related, other than characters, place, and items. I don't think they will literally send link in a dungen for one whole episode..
Hmmm I wonder what's for dinner? :D
Will the actor playing Link speak and p1ss off a bunch of fans, or will he be true to the game which is stupid for a show?
@lostn Well excuuuuuse me,Princess!
It's hard to believe
From another article: "Netflix is describing it as “Game of Thrones” for a family audience"
Eh.... what?
"Legend of Zelda Live-Action Series Coming to Netflix"
Great! I'll go grab my stuff!
Probably the best thing they could do for this is have the main character be someone other than Link to avoid the many obvious pitfalls of turning him into a live-action tv character, but unfortunately that would require getting rid of the most recognizable of only a handful of real, interesting characters that exist in the series.
@Kalan_Arkais It might work if it focused on Zelda royal family and the other kingdoms/species of Hyrule. In that sense i could see it vaguely compared to Game of Thrones. Link could just be a minor character passing through.
I just can't visualize a live action Zelda.
@moonlightwolf01 I imagine awful things.
Live-action? Really? Who the bloody hell would play even remotely appropriate roles? No matter how this is done; its most likely fail at this point
This could turn out either really bad, or surprisingly good. Guess we have to wait to find out.
I really hope they don't unexpectedly end the series with Link, shockingly being g@y, holding hands with his male lover as they walk into the spirit world....
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3232890/?ref_=nv_sr_4
? what will link sound like?
@deadpen better question, how would Link sound when he orgasms? I always pictured his orgasm to sound exactly like when he falls off a really high mountain.
@deadpen YAAAAH! RAAAAH! HIYAAAAH!
Live-Action? Are they mad?
"Well Excuuuuuuse me Princess", I actually grew up watching that crap lol.
this sounds really cool and if it comes to be i look forward to it!!!
i have faith in them
even after their failiure
i would much rather see a metroid game or something turned into show
some episodes have zero suit samus and others (most) only show her in her suit
Link needs to be a fleshed out character and I honestly hope that they can find a young man with soft features to play him.
My main, obvious concern is how they are going to handle the character of Link. Will he still be a mute? (aside from his grunts and such), or just a man of few words or will they flesh out his character? In that sense, his character will be the most interesting part of the shows production. I think Zelda would be more suitable as an animation tbh, but I'm still excited to see what they do with this. I think it would be awesome if they took a Doctor-who approach and replace the actor of Link every 3 or so years. Imagine an epic series based off Ocarina of Time, where the first two season detail the events of that game, and the final season details the events of Majora's Mask. After his storyline is over, the forth season could be based off Wind Waker, with a brand new actor to play Link.
Another thing they could do with this series is use it not as an adaption of the games, but to expand the games. Turn it into an extended universe and fill the gaps in the timeline where Link is not present.
@simuseb2 Hahaha....yeah, it'll be a mini-series, or at best a 2 season thing. I guarantee this won't be something that goes on for years.
@hypgnosis @simuseb2 One can dream. :P
Hey, listen!
All we know is that it is live action and it is based on The Legend of Zelda.
Is it going to be good? We don't know. Is it going to be bad? We don't know.
@Sanligo A healthy amount of cynicism is warranted. We know based on previous games that have been made into films/miniseries. There are very, VERY few that have been good.
Past experiences are great indicators of future success/failure.
@5hd6j @Sanligo Shows are rated on a case by case basis. Instantly jumping to the conclusion that it is going to be bad because of the setting is silly.
awesome!!!
some games, just shouldn't be turned into movies, series etc... this is one of them...
@phili878 Why not? Zelda is nothing more than a typical fantasy tale.
@kaliskonig @phili878 I have to wonder what the content will be. If he goes into dungeons solo, throws his hookshot around, opens chests, smashes pots, puts on his iron boots when there's strong wind, kills a boss and triumphantly lifts up his heart container.. it's going to be bad.
@lostn @kaliskonig @phili878
I'd imagine that there will be the main plot of Link's journey to save Hyrule, but there will probably be other character-focused plots, such as a Zelda storyline, possibly an Impa storyline, perhaps a plot that follows someone from the Gorons, Zoras, or Geurdo, and maybe a plot that follows Ganondorf and his takeover of Hyrule, and all the plotlines would intertwine at various points and at the climax of the story arc.
b, c and d storylines are needed to keep it interesting, in other words.
Oh dear...
Hey, the Netflix producers/writers have made a couple quality productions so far. As dumb as a live-action Link might look, I have faith in their vision, whatever it might be.
@pignugget How many of them have made their way to DVD, though? I don't buy into the streaming craze because of how easily licenses can be revoked. Disney did it with Christmas videos on Amazon around Christmas time one year.
@Jinzo_111887 @pignugget Netflix is trying to compete with HBO. You have to subscribe to watch any of their original series. They would never take any of their own published content off Netflix, but I'm pretty sure that's the only way to see it currently (with the exception of piracy). I guess it's not ideal if your someone who wants to "own" a hard copy that you can watch any time, but that's just the times we're livin in. Games probably won't even be sold in retail stores in 10 years.
@Jinzo_111887 @pignugget Netflix owns their original shows, so unless they completely go under they aren't going to drop them from their site like movies and shows they have to pay licensing fees for. Also, the first season of Orange is the New Black and both seasons of House of Cards were released on Blu-Ray and DVD for people that don't want to subscribe.
@pignugget @Jinzo_111887 Except Legend of Zelda is Nintendo's IP, not netflix's. You want to know the problem? Try finding a digital version of Deadpool on PC.
@ad1x2 @Jinzo_111887 @pignugget Except Legend of Zelda is Nintendo's IP, not Netflix's. Should the licensing agreement expire, the show will be mostly memories unless you count the pirated versions.
@Jinzo_111887 @pignugget not a "craze", it is the future of television my friend, hate it or love it but that is where it is going
@gix47 @Jinzo_111887 @pignugget Distant future as far as I'm concerned. If your ISP is crap or you have a low data cap, streaming is not a good idea. I doubt Obama's Net Neutrality plan will fix those things.
@Jinzo_111887 @ad1x2 @pignugget The episodes of Mario and Zelda produced by DiC came out over 25 years ago and are still available on DVD. There are other licensed movies and shows from far longer in the past that are still available. If Netflix produces a Zelda series chances are they'll release it in physical form a few months after it starts streaming like they are doing with their other series.
@Jinzo_111887 @gix47 @pignugget
It may not fix it, but he kept it from getting a lot worse. It wouldn't affect me much either way, as I don't live in the U.S., but it would set a horrible precedent for other countries if he had let Comcast and co. do as they pleased.