The Legend of Zelda – Copyright. Nintendo
As one of the most popular and beloved video-game franchises with an immensely rich amount of lore, it comes as no surprise the demand for a brand new Legend of Zelda animated series is strong. Is a Zelda series coming to Netflix? Here’s the history of the rumors surrounding a Netflix Zelda series.
The Legend of Zelda is a popular video game franchise developed by Nintendo. It’s been over three decades since the release of the first game, Legend of Zelda on the NES, and has since spawned a further 19 titles across various different generations of consoles. It’s been three decades since the release of the original animates series, and while the music was fantastic, the less said about the actual series the better.
Rumors of a brand new series have been circulating for years now, and of least for the foreseeable future, it may remain that way. Below we’re going to document what we know about the supposed Netflix series and then cover what we could see from it purely out of speculation.
Complete Timeline of Rumors surrounding a Zelda series on Netflix
Adi Shankar working on a Legend of Zelda series
The original rumors came around two years ago when we heard that Netflix would be working on a Zelda series but that was it. The Wrap reported that Adi Shankar was in talks to produce a TV series on Zelda. Ari Shankar is known for his pioneering role in Netflix’s animated Castlevania series which is widely considered to be the best on the service.
It was back in 2018 when Shankar posted on Instagram: “Working with an iconic Japanese gaming company to adapt one of their iconic video game series into a series.”
However, just a month after that initial report, it was then announced that Adi Shankar will be working on a Devil May Cry series leading to some think that this was the rumored series that the IG alluded to and not Zelda.
Open for business. pic.twitter.com/TCT5JH9fXz
— Adi Shankar (@adishankarbrand) November 16, 2018
There have since been rumors that any series run for three seasons are planned for any animated series. We’ll cover what these three seasons could entail in the speculation half of this article below.
There’s precedent for Netflix expanding more into the video game world as we’ve seen with the myriad of video game TV series and movies the streamer is currently working on.
The Legend of Zelda’s IMDb Page
The IMDb page for a supposed Legend of Zelda series remains the biggest evidence for a potential series. According to IMDb Pro, The Legend of Zelda series is currently filming. Nintendo is listed to be the production company behind the series with Netflix as the distributor.
Here’s the description attached to the IMDb project page:
“An animated anthology series based upon several of the games in Nintendo’s “The Legend of Zelda” franchise.”
Of course, this IMDb page could be made up by fans but given that it’s existed for over 2 years and nobody has yet to take it down from either Nintendo or Netflix, there could be merits to it. Nintendo, in particular, are ruthless when it comes to protecting their IP online even leading to this rather embarrassing ordeal.
The Tom Holland rumor
Throughout 2019 and 2020, rumors then died down until in September 2020.
On Wednesday, September 16th, a new rumor came that Tom Holland who recently appeared in Netflix’s The Devil All The Time but mostly known for his MCU appearances as Spider-man was being eyed for a lead role. It was reported first by We Got This Covered who have had some dud scoops but have also reported The Witcher prequel was in development long before it was officially announced so there may be something here. WGTC reports that Tom Holland is being eyed for the role of Link himself.
What We’d Like to See from a Netflix Zelda Series
Everything below is us speculating and theorizing what we could expect from a Zelda Netflix series.
The plot of The Legend of Zelda series would be entirely dependant on which video game it will be based upon. While all the video games follow similar themes, each video game is incredibly unique in its own right.
As for what each of the three rumored seasons could cover – here are our best guesses:
- The first season could follow the events of the video game The Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask.
- The second season could be focused on Link to the Past, Link’s Awakening, and A Link Between Worlds.
- A third season could then cover Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks.
It must be noted that the timeline that the first season will cover is missing Twilight Princess and Four Swords Adventures.
Skyward Sword, which takes place years before the timeline diverges, won’t be in the animated series. The latest video-game of the franchise, Breath of the Wild, has also not been rumored to appear in the animated series. It is theorized that Breath of the Wild is where all the respective timelines converge. Nintendo is yet to clarify where in the timeline Breath of the Wild resides.
Would you watch The Legend of Zelda animated series if there was one on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!
