Castlevania Editor Teases The Legend Of Zelda Anime For Netflix
It's the end of an era for Netflix's Castlevania. After just four short seasons, we're saying "fangs" for the memories and banishing the anime series back to the crypt. With a Dracula-shaped hole in our scheduling, fans are asking whether the animators would be willing to tackle another gaming legend. Fetch your ocarinas - could The Legend of Zelda be next?
Loosely based on Konami's Castlevania games, the Netflix anime has largely included characters and stories from 1989's Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. With the foul-mouthed Trevor Belmont trying to shake off the lamented legacy of his ancestors, the famed vampire hunter goes after big bad Dracula with the help of magician Sypha Belnades and Vlad's own son, Alucard. Despite Castlevania first being planned as a movie, it's found great success as a series and will round off its four-season run with a final batch of 10 episodes.
Could Castlevania lead to a Legend of Zelda series on Netflix?
Anime is never afraid to shy away from blood and guts, while continuing to prove cartoons aren't just for kids. Despite Nintendo's family-friendly image, there's plenty of death and destruction to be had in the Zelda games. Although maybe not taking the lore of Hyrule down the f-bomb-dropping route of Castlevania, The Legend of Zelda anime series could effectively be Game of Thrones for the whole family. It's all a nice idea that would easily give Netflix a licence to print money, however, will it ever happen?
Speaking to Zelda Dungeon, Castlevania Editor David Howe explain how he'd love to pick up the Master Sword. "Well I think there’s precedent for it", said Howe. "I personally own a couple copies of the Ocarina of Time manga, so they’ve already adapted it into a serialized manga format…and I think if something works in a manga format then it would work in an anime. And then there’s also the world building". His mention of manga is a reference to the fact that Nintendo has licensed manga novelisations of almost every title in the series since 1990.
Interesting, the manga comics haven't strictly followed the main plot of the games, meaning the like of the aforementioned Ocarina of Time have expanded the story beyond the main campaign like you'd need to for an anime series. Added to this, Howe's mention of Ocarina could mean this is where he'd start telling the story of a Zelda anime series.
Will a Legend of Zelda anime series happen?
There are a couple of problems when it comes to bringing Hyrule to life under Powerhouse Animation. Notably, Deadline confirmed Season 4 of Castlevania is tipped to be a jumping-off point for another anime set in the same universe. Howe and the rest of the team would presumably be brought on board for this and be pretty busy for the foreseeable. Elsewhere, we recently reported how Netflix was apparently planning a live-action Zelda series around 2015. The fact it was leaked ahead of an official announcement possibly led to its cancellation.
On the plus side, if Netflix had been looking into a live-action Zelda, it shows the streaming giant at least had an interest in this fantasy realm. Remembering that Netflix already has the Herny Cavill-led The Witcher to explore lands of magic and monsters, another live-action series could get in the way. A Legend of Zelda anime would combine the best of both worlds and finally give players an expanded franchise to enjoy.
Back in the day, Nintendo released the 13-episode The Legend of Zelda cartoon in 1989. It's been a long time since we've seen Link on our screens, so it's about time he got to best Ganon on the small screen. Looking at where the Zelda franchise is nowadays, both Breath of the WIld and the upcoming HD remake of Skyward Sword already have an anime style of graphics. There's also an unknown release for Breath of the Wild 2 (whenever that is) and the fact 2021 is the franchise's 35th anniversary. Personally, we can't think of a better time to announce a Legend of Zelda anime series from the Castlevania gang. We can only hope.
Images via Netflix | Nintendo
