Many have tried, but thus far, we have yet to see a good adaptation of a video game to TV or film. Now, it seems Netflix is going to give it a shot with a new live action series based on Nintendo’s ‘Legend of Zelda’ franchise, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
The project is still said to be in early development – Netflix hasn’t even found a writer for the series yet – but the company is shopping it around as a more family-friendly version of “Game of Thrones” thanks to the source material. It’s a classic story: a young boy named Link must save the day and (usually) rescue Princess Zelda from a villainous captor.
To date, there have been around 20 “Zelda” games made (depending on which ones you count). It’s a franchise that’s ripe for adaptation, since much of the game’s storyline follows traditional fantasy tropes.
This isn’t the first time Link has made the jump to TV. There was a short-lived “Zelda” TV series in 1989 that was mostly notable for featuring a petulant Link with a whiny catchphrase. Netflix seems like the right place for such an adaptation, though: the company has won awards for some of its other original programming, and it already has a licensed content deal with Marvel Studios to produce a handful of superhero shows.
Representatives for Netflix and Nintendo did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this post.
