4 Reasons Why Now Is The Perfect Time For A ‘Legend Of Zelda’ Series

By now you’ve all likely heard of the news that Netflix and Nintendo are hard at work developing a Legend Of Zelda series. Describing it as “Game Of Thrones for a family audience,” the two entertainment giants are still in early stages of development, meaning the series could still ultimately get canned if it doesn’t fit Nintendo’s standards. While some folks are skeptical of the potential of the series, there’s a whole lot that can go right in this Netflix and Nintendo collaboration.

Here are five reasons why now may be the perfect time for a Legend Of Zelda television series.

1. We Are In A New Golden Age Of Television

News of a Legend Of Zelda game literally could not have come at a better time. While movies are slowly becoming one tentpole franchise after another, television has slowly become a place where stories truly come alive. Just look at amazing serialized content like Breaking Bad, Game Of Thrones, and True Detective, and it becomes clear just how much the medium has evolved in the past decade. Networks have grown to realize how important long-form storytelling has become in today’s culture, and are embracing it wholeheartedly. This is precisely the type of climate that is conducive to a story like Zelda, which while basic in its premise, has the potential to branch out in so many directions.

2. It’s Netflix

Say what you will about the other amazing networks. As great as HBO, Showtime and AMC have been the past several years, Netflix is a true pioneer. After spending the past couple of years building up their cache with shows like House Of Cards, Orange Is The New Black and Marco Polo, Netflix has proven they are willing to take chances – not only in the content they provide, but how they provide it. So not only will Netflix be willing to go the extra mile to make sure The Legend Of Zelda is amazing, but the whole series will be available on day one, allowing the viewer to binge through the whole series, not unlike how a gamer would blow through a new Zelda game.

3. The Super Mario Bros. Movie Is Finally Behind Us

It may sound like a joke, but trust me, that flick was no joke, and it pretty much ruined the prospect of any Nintendo property hitting the big screen for the past two decades, including a Legend Of Zelda movie. In an interview with the legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, he expressed his reasons why the 1993 film failed as a movie.

“I think that they tried very hard and in the end it was a very fun project that they put a lot of effort into. The one thing that I still have some regrets about is that the movie may have tried to get a little too close to what the Mario Bros. videogames were. And in that sense, it became a movie that was about a videogame, rather than being an entertaining movie in and of itself.”

It’s been over 20 years since the movie’s release, and Nintendo has yet to produce another live action property. Times have changed greatly since then, studios are slowly wrapping their heads around adapting from different mediums, and telling an expensive story is no longer restricted to the big screen. This makes it the perfect time for the Legend Of Zelda to arrive.

4. It’s The Right Move For Nintendo

Though the past few months have been pretty stellar for the Nintendo, the past few years haven’t been so pleasant. Nintendo has been berated for not allowing their games on their competitors’s consoles. Last year, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said the company had plans to “actively utilize character intellectual property” to increase their revenue. Some assumed that had to do with allowing their characters to be used, in some capacity, on other devices like cell phones. While adaptations of Nintendo properties did come to mind, what didn’t come to mind was that a Legend Of Zelda series could be on its way. But if Nintendo wants to keep their characters off other systems, utilizing their properties in this way could be one – of many – solutions. And the fact that the property in question is the Legend Of Zelda practically guarantees it’ll get a lot of attention.

So what do you think? Are you excited for Legend Of Zelda to hit the small screen in the coming years? Let us know your thoughts below!