As many might remember when reports hit back in early 2015, Netflix was allegedly working to bring The Legend of Zelda to live-action through a new TV show. According to reports at the time, it was aiming to be "Game of Thrones for a family audience," following the franchise's standard affair of Link having to embark on a dangerous quest to save all of Hyrule from the clutches of evil.
Thanks to new details from former College Humor star Adam Conover, it was confirmed today that the show was real and canceled due to leaks, however, the comedian also clarified that a second Nintendo adaptation was in the works. First spotted by Eurogamer, Conover claims in an interview with The Serf Times that he found out about the cancellation due to working on his own Nintendo adaptation, with the comedian slated to create a "Fantastic Mr. Fox style" Star Fox TV show.
Recounting a story about how Shigeru Miyamoto came to visit the College Humor offices while the show was in production, Conover goes on to cite that his Star Fox show and the Legend of Zelda live-action adaptation were dropped abruptly. Someone at Netflix had allegedly leaked the Zelda show online, leading to the widespread reports, with the comedian claiming "Nintendo freaked out... they pulled the plug on everything." Conover cites the nervousness as being down to the company having not adapted any of its iconic properties to the screen in years, leaving them more than a little anxious when everything was leaked online. The conversation begins at 39:00 into the clip below.
As such, Conover's claymation Star Fox show was canned, with Nintendo moving away from all the TV projects it had in the works. In the years since, it seems as though Nintendo has begun to soften its stance on adaptations, with the company currently working on bringing Super Mario to the big-screen through Despicable Me creator Illumination. Netflix, on the other hand, has proceeded to adapt several other video game properties since its proposed deals with Nintendo. The Witcher has been a massive success for the streaming service, which has now put into production both live-action and animated shows based on Assassin's Creed, Tomb Raider, Sonic the Hedgehog, Cyberpunk 2077, and Resident Evil.
In the wider world of video game adaptations, Jordan Vogt-Roberts will be directing a Metal Gear Solid movie with Oscar Isaac in the lead role, Amazon has put a Fallout TV show in production with Westworld creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy attached, and HBO has put Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann on an adaptation of The Last of Us. It seems The Legend of Zelda would've had some stiff competition if Nintendo had gone ahead with its plans.
Source: Eurogamer