Zelda live-action series reportedly in development at Netflix
Streaming giant said to be working closely with Nintendo to bring the classic adventure series to live, in the midst of the popularity of sword and sorcery shows like Game of Thrones.
Netflix has been building its stable of original series, documentaries, and movies, and may just be moving into a video game adaptation.
The Wall-Street Journal reports that the company is working closely with Nintendo to produce a live-action series based on The Legend of Zelda. Described as the swords and sorcery style of Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings, but with a more family-friendly tone, itwould follow the adventures of an ordinary boy named Link who must rescue Princess Zelda to save Hyrule. As you might expect.
The series is currently seeking a writer, and it's entirely possible that either company could walk away from the project before it gets off the ground. As the report notes, Nintendo has been historically protective of its properties, especially after the disastrous live-action adaptation of Super Mario Bros.
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replySteve Watts posted a new article, Zelda live-action series reportedly in development at Netflix
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wher der fuh?
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Yes. All of the yes.
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This is just one of those things that I feel deep down they're going to completely fuck up, yet I love Zelda so much that somehow beyond all logic, I'm interested to see how this goes. Maybe they'll somehow do it right? I guess, on the plus side, it's Netflix. So far they're trying to put out quality shows. If this was ABC or NBC or some shit, I'd be terrified.
Still, an adult-themed Metroid directly in the same vein as a Ridley Scott Alien/Prometheus movie would have been money. That's the only Nintendo franchise I can legitimately see as a live-action movie/show. Mario would be great as a Pixar/Lego-movie type of animated movie. Well, until he speaks. -
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zelda williams
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I would also cast an unknown.
I will kick a goose right in the beak if it ends up being Jake Gyllenhaal.
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Justin Bieber
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the kid who plays bran stark?
I imagine they'll put in a kid
have him grow up to be an adult like ocarina of time -
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I just imagined him saying that and then stomping off in the iron boots.
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excuuuuuuuse me princess
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Oh. I guess that joke was already made
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That's ok. It won't be the last time it's made, I assure you.
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This should be the *official* topic thread since it's tied into our story. ;)
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Well, you guys should make it possible for mods to fold previous threads into the official one.
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I think that's one of the things our web team has been working on for several months now. I'm not sure where they are in their development process, but I know it's something we all have been wanting for quite some time.
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Gabon hates MNC
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Brilliant idea. Nothing says "TV magic" like attaching a voice to a silent video game protagonist.
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Yaah! Yeh! Hyaaaa!
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Waaaaaaaaa!
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So I talked about this a little on Twitter, but I'll open the floor here too. Which game should serve as the basis for it? Obviously they're going to need to exercise some creative license no matter what, but it'll probably bear a passing resemblance to one of the games.
I tend to think Ocarina. Even if I don't think the gameplay has aged all that well, the story is the simplest entry point and establishes some important parts of Zelda lore that are more commonplace now. Namely, the Triforce being split into three parts that represent each of the three main characters. Plus, Zelda gets to actually do something, and any modern series can't literally just have a damsel in distress waiting to be rescued the whole time. Giving her some agency as Sheik just makes sense.-
I'll go into this more next week, but I think there should be no basis for this. Give this Link a clean slate, just as every Zelda game (minus a few exceptions like Majora's Mask and Zelda II) go in with a fresh Link.
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Super Smash Brothers Melee
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If they choose a game.... I suspect either LTTP or Twilight Princess. I liked Twilight Princess best because it had the strongest narrative structure of all the Zelda games that I have played and I think that would translate best into a tv series.
Majora's Mask might be really interesting to pull off as a tv show, each episode is Link going back to the start with a new take on the same day's events.
Honestly, they're probably just going to generate a story off the base common lore of all the Zelda games. Evil sorcerer -> princess in peril -> (very) young woodsman starts adventure -> questing with far too much backtracking. -
Obviously the CD-i games
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Ocarina of time, because if you want ganondorf to be a useful character from a writers perspective you need him before he becomes super powerful. Also there is that whole thing about how he betrays the king of hyrule.
Really though I suspected they'll steal ideas from every game and make stuff up too, but Ocarina will be the closest one.
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I will be very surprised if this isn't terrible.
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I think it's going to be great. Nintendo learned their lesson with franchising properties back in the 90s, they won't let them release it if it's awful
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??????
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G[Green Arrow]g of Thrones.
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Dammit.
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It happens.
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A lot to me lately, that's what I get for using a phone without an app.
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What....what the fuck man. Just what the fuck.
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This sounds like a terrible, terrible idea.
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Who will play the fairy constantly pestering link?
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I love Zelda, so I've thought about this announcement way more than is warranted. A live-action Zelda has enormous potential. Netflix apparently wants to create "Game of Thrones for all ages." If they pull it off, I am in. The trouble is that there are certain tropes to which a Zelda TV show must adhere, that do not necessarily lend themselves to television.
First and foremost, Link can't talk. He just can't. I don't care whether they make him stuffy and formal like Legolas from Lord of the Rings, or tilt more toward the surfer-dude interpretation of the character used in the Zelda cartoon series. Whatever Netflix does will be wrong. Link can't talk--not because he's a mute, but because he's the embodiment of courage.
That's the whole idea. Link does not argue, debate, whine, or express fear with his words. He takes a deep breath, hefts the Master Sword, and plunges head-first into danger. Viewers need to see Link muster his courage and strength without saying a word, because everyone around him is all talk. Every other denizen of Hyrule hems and haws, making excuses why they can't cave the princess or, as is often the case, why they cannot change a bad situation in their own small, meaningless lives. They need Link to do it for them.
Everyone doubts Link, and Link proves them wrong by taking action instead of wasting time with words. This problem shouldn't pose too great an obstacle. Give him a sidekick (probably a fairy) to do his talking for him. Explain his silence by making him a mute. Or sit on the fact that he can talk, but only in single words, and rarely. Wouldn't it be thrilling to tune into the finale of season one only for Link to calmly and softly say "No" in response to a plan likely to get Zelda killed?
Second: Link's age. Casting a kid as Link (anyone younger than, say, 17) would be a bad idea. I support Netflix's intention to create "Game of Thrones of all ages," but a significant demographic of "all ages" will not tune if the main character is a stupid little kid who runs around in a green skirt with no pants. Also, most child actors are terrible and should be cryogenically frozen until they reach adulthood if they show the slightest glimmer of promise.
Third: Zelda. In this day and age, a damsel-in-distress story does not resonate with "all ages." "All ages" must extend to "both genders," and women do not want to see a strapping young lad with a sword storm a tower to rescue a helpless maiden. It just doesn't play. The one thing little-kid me loved about the Zelda cartoon (which was almost completely terrible) was that Zelda played an active role. The princess didn't wear frilly dresses. She wore knee-high boots, had an attitude, and fought beside Link on the front lines against Ganon and his minions. Sure, she got captured a time or twenty, but primarily because she was an important figure instrumental to Ganon's plans.
The Zelda character needs to channel the spunk of her cartoon counterpart--but maybe not at first. I wouldn't be against a Zelda who, like the princess in Ocarina of Time, was determined to save the world, but couldn't because he father kept her nestled deep in the heart of Hyrule Castle's tall, impenetrable walls. Maybe she starts out helpless and afraid, yet determined. Through her growing friendship with Link, she learns how to take care of herself and matures into one of the greatest heroes in Hyrule lore.
Hyrule legend, I mean.
I guess I'm on board with this. I'm hopeful. I've got my fingers crossed. Zelda is such a rich world. There is so much fun lore to explore, especially if Netflix opted to create a mishmash Hyrule from pieces of the more popular Zelda games. I just hope they don't screw it up.
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Also, I'm not under the illusion that Link won't talk. I just know whatever he says, however he says it, will fall flat because it won't live up to the Link we've imagined in our heads for nearly 30 years.
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