The Wrap reports that Adi Shankar, the guy behind Netflix’s delightfully bonkers Castlevania series, is in talks to produce a show based on Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda video game franchise. Shankar made his name with his Bootleg Universe, a series of highly stylized, unauthorized films based on dorky stuff like Power Rangers and The Punisher. And also a movie about Mr. Rogers’ alleged badassery during the Vietnam War:
Yeah, so none of that actually happened, but Shankar was clearly very passionate about depicting it, which may be more important.
Anyway, on Monday, Shankar hinted on his Instagram that he had a new project in the works.
The Wrap has confirmed that he’s talking about Zelda. Sorry for spoiling the surprise, Shankar, but at least now you’ll have a few afternoon on November 17?
Legend of Zelda came out on the Nintendo Entertainment System way back in 1986, in the stone age when you could “fix” a game cartridge by yanking it out of the console and blowing on it. Nintendo followed that up with over 17 sequels over the next 30 years, turning it into one of the most successful and iconic series in video games.
It’s worth noting that The Legend of Zelda has already been on TV. In 1989, Nintendo commissioned an animated series for North America that ran for 13 episodes. It did not go well:
Shankar will likely fare better — I mean, anybody would — although the series’ simplicity could be a problem. The Legend of Zelda games are usually light on story; the demon Ganon is threatening the kingdom of Hyrule, Link and Zelda have to stop him, rinse and repeat. But Castlevania is similarly same-y, and Shankar and company still managed to wring nutso scenes like this out of it:
We don’t yet know if Shaknar’s Zelda’s series will be live-action or animated. The news is consistent with Nintendo’s recent strategy of branching out into other kinds of media; it’s making a Mario movie, for example. When reached for comment, Nintendo responded in an incredibly Nintendo way: “We have nothing to announce on this topic.” Classic.
To stay up to date on everything Game of Thrones, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Watch Game of Thrones for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels