'The Legend of Zelda' Netflix TV Series Release Date and News; What Game Will This Show Follow?

Jan 18, 2016 02:49 PM EST

Lately, there has been a lot of news from Netflix about certain series making a comeback.  For example, Jessica Jones is definitely getting a Season 2, and Orange is the New Black, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Grace and Frankie have their next season release dates planned as well.  There will also be some new content, and this includes a television series based on The Legend of Zelda.  This is what is known about The Legend of Zelda series Release Date.

In case you do not know about video games for the past thirty years (yes, The Legend of Zelda series is almost that old) Zelda is one of Nintendo's biggest intellectual properties.  The video game is about the adventures of Link living in the land of Hyrule and saving Princess Zelda, usually from a sorcerer villain named Ganondorf.  Every Nintendo console has at least one "Zelda canon" game, and the world of Hyrule has built itself up over the years with lush settings and interesting characters. 

Although it has had a lot of spin-offs over the years, the last incarnation of a Zelda game was on the Wii with Skyward Sword.  There is much demand for a Legend of Zelda game to come to the current gen Wii U, but that is another story with its constant delays

Nerdist reports from the Wall Street Journal that Netflix is "working closely with Nintendo" to develop a live-action series based on the fantasy game franchise.  In case you don't know, this has been tried before, as The Legend of Zelda was once an animated series, but it was designed for kids in mind, with most of the adult who grew up on the show remembering Link's cringe-worthy catchphrase of "Well, excuuuuuuuuuuuuse me, princess!"

The fact that Netflix's new Legend of Zelda series is live-action shows that the show could be designed for all ages. In fact, Netflix describes the show as "Game of Thrones for a family audience".  There are, of course, some things depicted in A Game of Thrones that would not be suitable for children, but adding elements of political intrigue in an elaborate fantasy setting could easily pull in more adults than kids to this. 

Nintendo has been very careful about releasing its property to live-action film after the 1993 box-office failure of Super Mario Brothers.  The company has been pressured on several occasions to make a Legend of Zelda movie just like there will be a Warcraft movie. However, the company has refused on several occasions, but this series could begin a new standard. 

Considering that the series would be live-action, it would require quite an effects budget.  Assuming that Netflix got the green light from Nintendo and started filming right away, it could easily take years before a decent first season would be made.  Hopefully, Link, Zelda, and all of the Hyrule gang will make it to the Netflix screen by 2017.