Any time a new original series gets announced for Netflix, people are going to go crazy, given the company’s already stellar track record. And when one of those announcements happens to involve one of the most popular video games of all time, The Legend of Zelda, the fanfare sounds out even louder. But we can anticipate tidal waves of groans all across the world now that it’s been revealed a Zelda series probably isn’t in development at all. We’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t we?
Who better to shut down Nintendo-based rumors that Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, who recently spoke with Time about all things video game-related. In that interview, he dropped this bomb(chu).
As of now, I have nothing new to share with you in regard to the use of our IPs for any TV shows or films, but I can at least confirm that the article in question is not based on correct information.
There’s something mighty strange about the way he worded that answer, in that it sounds more like a press release than something a human being would speak aloud. News of the Zelda series came last month from the Wall Street Journal, which stated that we’d be watching the ordinary boy Link going on his time-honored journey to save Princess Zelda, and that it would be heading to Netflix. The streaming giant never confirmed the deal, so maybe this project is actually headed somewhere else.
Iwata not having anything “new to share” doesn’t strictly mean that a Hyrule-based series will never come to light. If Wall Street Journal’s facts weren’t based on correct reports, it might just mean no deals have been made anywhere yet, or that Link will be something other than “ordinary.” I’m guessing more on this story will come out in the next few months, perhaps timed with an announcement about the long-awaited Legend of Zelda game for the Wii U. That would be the best time to do it. As you can tell, I’m having trouble believing that we won’t be watching a live-action Link wielding his sword in the future.
Excitement about a Zelda TV series was heightened when the indie squad The Zelda Project released the gorgeous teaser below imagining what the excellent Ocarina of Time would look like in real life.
Amazingly, something like this would only appear more striking with a Netflix (or another network) budget attached to it. Let’s all hope that Iwata was just keeping his cards close to his chest here. If not, there’s always the Super Mario Bros. movie to laugh at.
