The series was first revealed to be in development in December 2016 at CCXP in Brazil, before being confirmed in August 2017 as a Japanese-American collaboration with Netflix to create a new adaptation of Masami Kurumada's manga and anime classic.

Yoshiharu Ashino was announced as director, with Eugene Son among the writers working on the adaptation.

Shun, a male character in the original manga and anime, was changed into a female character for this adaptation, sparking major backlash even before the show aired.

Writer Eugene Son justified the gender swap of Shun by saying the Bronze Knights needed more female representation, noting that in the original series 'the Bronze Knights with Pegasus Seiya are all dudes.'

The gender change of Shun drew criticism from fans for multiple reasons, including the complete removal of any explanation for Shaina's mask, a plot element tied to the original story.

Shun was notable in the original series as the only main male character who did not fit the stereotypical male hero mold, being slightly effeminate and averse to fighting; changing his gender was seen by some critics as pandering and by others as reinforcing gender stereotypes.

The series received mixed reviews overall, with The Review Geek rating it 3.5 out of 10 and Ready Steady Cut giving it 2.5 out of 5 while calling the show 'dull and uninspiring.'

The first six episodes, released on Netflix on July 19, 2019, loosely adapt the 'Galaxian Wars' and 'Black Knights' arcs from the manga, while a second batch of six episodes released January 23, 2020 loosely adapt the 'Silver Knights' arc.