Netflix calls new Zelda series “Game of Thrones for families,” rendering Game of Thrones meaningless
Lord of the Rings aside, Hollywood has traditionally not had much of a clue how to deal with fantasy stories. But the amazing crossover success of Game of Thrones has television networks scrambling to find out if they can achieve similar success. So you see them funding opulent historical dramas, or adaptations of genre-subverting fantasy novels, or medieval fantastical epics and describing them as being in some way “like Game of Thrones.”
Here’s the problem: only Game of Thrones is like Game of Thrones. It’s about the simultaneous hope and brutality; the mix of high and low fantasy; and the genre-defying-and-defining twists. While I’m usually happy to see the attempts made even if I’m not a fan of the phrase, today’s news is seriously testing my patience. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Netflix is working on a live-action Legend of Zelda series, which is an interesting strategy on their part. But the article also includes the ridiculous line from someone working on the show that it’s “Game of Thrones for a family audience.”
Seriously, Netflix?
What does that even mean? Link shockingly dies while attempting to marry Midna off for an alliance? Tingle takes the Littlefinger role? Or is it a studio executive whose only frame of reference for “a show with swords” is Game of Thrones?
Please, Hollywood: if you have no idea what makes Game of Thrones special, don’t mention it and don’t try to copy it. Game of Thrones is not the entire fantasy genre, and that’s what makes it great.
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