The Legend of Zelda series is basically what I spent 90% of my childhood playing, with the other 90% being Pokemon games. Yes I know that adds up to 180%; I couldn’t justifiably give them each 50-50 because I used to literally hole myself up in my basement and play both of those every day when I got home from school. You might laugh at the image of an overweight 10-year-old me pigging out on potato chips and playing video games, but I don’t care. The Zelda series has one of the richest storylines out of every video game franchise, which means it would make sense for it to get a television/movie adaptation.
Key word: would.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. According to The Wall Street Journal Netflix is in the process of developing a live-action adaptation to the Zelda series, with the goal in mind being to make a family-friendly Game of Thrones.
The video streaming service 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, said a person familiar with the matter. As it seeks writers to work on the show, Netflix is describing it as “Game of Thrones” for a family audience, this person said.
The “Zelda” games have traditionally included swords and sorcery, like “Game of Thrones” or “Lord of the Rings,” but typically with a more light-hearted, kid-friendly tone.
Netflix is said to be working closely with Nintendo, the Japanese game developer that has made about 20 “The Legend of Zelda” games since the original, which was released in the U.S. in 1987.
Remember how I said the key word up there was “would?” Yeah, that’s because I’m skeptical of how good this series would be if it ever made it to screen. For one thing most video game movies absolutely blow. Sure Resident Evil is entertaining, but it’s not a good movie. Same with Silent Hill, Alone in the Dark and Bloodrayne (note that those last two aren’t even entertaining). Plus, Link doesn’t even talk. He’s a mute. Can you imagine the shitstorm that would go down when the whichever actor’s voice doesn’t live up to what the fan’s are expecting? I mean listen to this shit:
For one, Link isn’t wearing pants. For two, his voice makes me want to murder babies. Not to be a Debbie downer, but I’m hoping this project gets the axe before it even comes close to getting off the ground…but then again if they can pull of something even similar to this fake movie trailer, I might be on board:
But probably not.
[H/T Wall Street Journal]