Nintendo
Illumination denies rumors of an animated Zelda movie being in production
After the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, fans have become excited at what other Nintendo movies are to come, but Illumination has some bad news.
When Nintendo announced they were collaborating with Illumination, the animated movie studio behind the Minions franchise and other kid’s films, to create an official adaptation of Super Mario Bros, many where nervous at the idea. And after the cast was revealed doubts and criticism skyrocketed. But when it released earlier this year, The Super Mario Bros. Movie quickly became a success, rising through the ranks and becoming one of the most successful animated films in history. So of course, everyone started asking what was coming next.
One of the most popular rumors that quickly escalated into news reports and affirmations from various sources was that Shigeru Miyamoto was already working alongside Illumination’s Chris Meledandri to bring The Legend of Zelda to the big screen. However, that has now been completely debunked by Meledandri himself.
“I don’t know where that came from,” said the founder and CEO of Illumination, who’s been producer of all of the studio’s titles, to The Wrap. “I mean I can understand how people would surmise all sorts of things because obviously, we’ve had a great experience working together. My relationship with Nintendo now includes being on their board of directors, so I understand how people can surmise these things. But in terms of the specifics, that was just something that I’ve been hearing lots of reports. This is just about what’s next between Nintendo and Illumination.”
Benjamin Renner, one of the studios’ directors, added that he sees “one report every week” about Zelda being the next project for both studios. However, it seems like no such type of project has been confirmed yet. Whether it’s been considered or if it’s even in talks is an entirely different story, but one that audiences will not be able to hear about probably for a long time.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie took several years to come to fruition since its original announcement, and ever since then Nintendo managed to open up Super Nintendo World, their own line of theme parks, as part of Universal Studios’ entertainment offerings. It’s only a matter of time before their reach goes beyond Mario and starts to dip into the company’s other IP, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
Source | The Wrap