8 Video Game Leaks That Changed EVERYTHING
3. The Legend of Zelda Netflix Series
In extreme cases a leak can piss off the higher-ups enough that they just end up cancelling the thing, and that's absolutely what happened with Netflix's intended live-action series based on The Legend of Zelda.
Way back in 2015, The Wall Street Journal reported that Nintendo and Netflix were partnering on the adaptation, which was described as "Game of Thrones for a family audience."
But in 2021, Adam Conover of Adam Ruins Everything revealed that Netflix pulled the plug on the Zelda series after the Wall Street Journal article came out.
Conover, who was working on a claymation Star Fox project which was also cancelled at the same time, said that Nintendo "freaked out" when the leak happened, causing them to shut down all in-development adaptations.
While it's no secret that Nintendo is fiercely protective of their IP, it's wild that a Game of Thrones-esque, presumably mega-budget Zelda series was canned because of a leak.
If it had gone ahead, though, Nintendo presumably wouldn't have greenlit the 2027 Legend of Zelda movie that's currently in pre-production.