As the highest grossing movie of 2023, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is such a huge hit that other Nintendo movies will follow through animation company Illumination. The closeness of the future cooperation is evidenced by the fact that Illumination boss Chris Meledandri has an advisory role on Nintendo’s board.
Recently, even the reports have been doing the rounds a project is already being planned very concretely: “Legend Of Zelda”! But Meledandri has now denied reports of an imminent adjustment from the video game classic about the adventures of the hero Link, armed with a sword and shield, and the eponymous princess Zelda.
Probably no “Zelda” animated movie for now!
At the Annecy International Animation Festival Meledandri explained to the industry magazine that he couldn’t explain where the rumors came from. He understands how people come to that conclusion, but “Zelda” is a project he keeps hearing news about (so not yet what he’s working on).
However, one should not conclude that a “Zelda” movie is completely ruled out with this denial. Those responsible for Illumination, such as Nintendo, should record just how enthusiastically many fans on the net have reacted to a possible “Zelda” movie from the creators behind “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (and how disappointed now with the denial).
We also know that Nintendo has wanted to customize Zelda for a long time. A few years ago there was an attempt with Netflix, but it failed due to creative differences. So it’s entirely possible that “Zelda” will be on the agenda at one of the next company meetings (if it isn’t already).
Which projects the collaboration will soon emerge after the success of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” are currently eagerly awaited. In addition to “Zelda”, the must-have sequel “The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2”, as well as “Luigi’s Mansion” and “Donkey Kong” have recently been circulating the rumor mill.
More about Nintendo’s success in GameStar Talk
By the way: just a few days ago, our video editor Sebastian visited the GameStar colleagues to talk about Nintendo’s success in the cinemas. You can listen to the resulting conversation as a GameStar podcast or even watch it with an image directly via YouTube here:
Together with Mein-MMO editor-in-chief Leya Jankowski, Sebastian discusses not only the success of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”, but also the current heyday of video game adaptations in general: “Forget Marvel, game movies are the future”. the provocative statement that forms the headline of the conversation.