The world of Legend Of Zelda video games is massive and is worthy of being an animated series on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or other streaming platforms. Even live-action may be an interesting watch if they get it right. There are rumors and speculations going around that Netflix is making a Legend Of Zelda series and if that’s true, you may be wondering what is the release date of this tv show. Here’s everything that you need to know about this.
Is Netflix Making a Legend of Zelda Series/TV Show?
Unfortunately, the answer is no. Netflix is not working on a Zelda tv series as of now. The source of these rumors in 2023 seems to be stemming from the article by Wall Street Journal (from back in 2015) where it was leaked that the live-action series was in the early stages of development.
The story was about a boy named Link who must rescue Zelda, a princess, and save Hyrule – the core storyline that all players are familiar with. According to the article, it was touted to be like Game of Thrones, but family-friendly. Plus, Nintendo was said to be closely working with Netflix.
Most recently, we saw the release (and unprecedented success) of The Super Mario Bros. Movie featuring Chris Pratt, Jack Black, and Anya Taylor-Joy as Peaches (peaches, peaches, peaches, peaches)…so, it makes sense that after this, people would think the devs would work on another huge franchise from their catalog.
In the WSJ article, they mention that Netflix has declined to comment and a Nintendo spokesperson has also not commented on the leaks.
Who is playing Link in the Legend of Zelda Netflix series?
It was speculated that Tom Holland was roped in to play Link. To help people visualize how it would potentially look, posters were made using AI (Midjourney).
The full cast of @Netflix's live-action #Zelda series just dropped, revealing an all-star cast starring @TomHolland1996, @EmmaWatson, and @idriselba! 😱
Full posters in thread 👇
(JK. Made w/ #midjourney, inpainting w/ #dalle, facial correction w/ Tencent ARC, and Photoshop) pic.twitter.com/YnxV7UEJgH
— Dan Leveille (@danlev) October 5, 2022
There’s even a fan-made teaser trailer for The Legend of Zelda live-action concept:
Who is playing Zelda in the Netflix series?
Rumors said that Emma Watson was going to play Princess Zelda in The Legend Of Zelda Netflix Series.
The Legend Of Zelda Netflix Series Cast
This was the rumored cast of the series.
- Tom Holland playing Link
- Emma Watson playing Zelda
- Idris Elba playing Ganondorf
- Maisie Williams playing Saria
- Meryl Streep playing Twinrova
- Sadie Sink playing Malon
- Jameela Jamil playing Urbosa
- Danny DeVito playing Tingle
- Gemma Chan playing the Great Fairy
- Steve Buscemi playing Dampé the Gravedigger
Why was the Live Action Zelda Series on Netflix Canceled?
As Eurogamer mentions in the linked article – when WSJ leaked plans of a Zelda series on Netflix, Nintendo canned the whole project entirely.
https://twitter.com/supererogatory/status/1356490297350344704
Here’s the quote by comedian Adam Conover found by @supererogatory:
“I worked at CollegeHumour and we had a secret project where we were going to make a claymation version of StarFox with Nintendo,” Conover said. “I know this because Shigeru Miyamoto came to our office, and I remember that because I asked my boss if I could be in the office that day – ‘cos it was the weekend – because I just wanted to watch Shigeru Miyamoto walk by. He told me no and I’m still mad at him…
“Then, a month later, suddenly there were reports Netflix wasn’t going to do its Legend of Zelda anymore. I was like ‘what happened?’ And then I heard from my boss we weren’t doing our Star Fox anymore. I was like ‘what happened?’. He was like, ‘someone at Netflix leaked the Legend of Zelda thing, they weren’t supposed to talk about it, Nintendo freaked out… and they pulled the plug on everything, the entire programme to adapt these things.”
So, there you have it. That’s everything you need to know about The Legend Of Zelda Netflix Series, and why it was reportedly canceled. With the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, let’s hope a 3D animation movie of Legend of Zelda is in the pipeline.