The Super Mario Bros. Movie is one of the gaming’s greatest successes when it comes to adapting a game faithfully and entertainingly to the big screen, raking in over $1.3 billion USD at the global box office. And, based on a new report, it looks like Universal is keen to jump back into the Nintendo well and take a stab at adapting The Legend of Zelda—but fans of the franchise have mixed opinions on the news.
According to well-known entertainment reporter Jeff Sneider on The Hot Mic podcast, Universal is near to closing a “big deal” with Nintendo for the rights to make a Zelda movie.
Sneider specifically noted his sources say the project would be yet another animated film from Illumination in partnership and co-produced by Nintendo, the same studio that did Super Mario Bros., and will likely turn the plumbing brothers into multi-film stars. Despite the success of the last release, this blockbuster deal that Universal is reportedly spending “a pretty penny” on is not a home run.
Much like when it was announced Illumination would helm the Mario Bros. return to the silver screen, there are skeptics from both the video game and film fans that are unsure if this is the right move for Nintendo’s beloved franchise.
Illumination is best known for movies like Despicable Me, Minions, and many other animated projects that, while profitable, are almost exclusively viewed as films geared entirely toward children without something like a Pixar or Dreamworks level of depth to appeal to an older audience too.
For Mario, the risk worked out since the story was never the focus and the studio’s animation showcased a spectacle enjoyed by 95 percent of audiences, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
This deal hasn’t been confirmed, but the worry from Zelda fans is that Illumination might not be the right pick to try and adapt the various legends of the Triforce since even in some of the smaller games from the franchise, the stories are a focal point—regardless of their depth. Now the internet is flooded with memes about how Link will be voiced by some big celebrity, spout off one-liners, and set out on a training montage to Holding Out for a Hero.
There are some bright sides—hopefully not any Mr. Blue Sky though—to this, since Illumination could try to strike out to a slightly more mature demographic while still using their animation expertise to turn Hyrule into a stunning visual showcase just like the Mushroom Kingdom.
There are also plenty of stories to choose from, with some like Wind Waker or Link’s Awakening potentially even leaning into the studio’s existing styles, and it isn’t like Zelda can’t be silly at its core.
Personally, I’d also take Skyward Sword and Groose on the big screen, please and thank you.
Personally, I agree with the skeptics, but not because I don’t think Illumination is a fantastic studio with talented people working there who would love a chance to work on Zelda. I think if Nintendo remains a stickler for creative control, and would be happy to tone back marketability to remove things like excessive licensed music or big-name actors instead of proper voice casting, it could work well.
That goes doubly so if they can bring in the right person to write it—maybe they could steal someone like How to Train Your Dragon’s Dean DeBlois from ongoing projects, though that is unlikely.
I lean toward caution because I think Universal and Nintendo saw the success of Super Mario Bros. and are eager to recreate it with Zelda, which could lead to a slippery slope of cut corners even if the creative heart is in the right place.
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If I had to pick an ideal partnership for the franchise, I would have loved to see the Dreamworks team that released the incredible Puss in Boots: The Last Wish get a real crack at the Zelda license. But now we are stuck waiting to see if the deal closes, then sitting in the dark until we hear who is helming the project along with details about which game will be adapted first—barring a decision to mix and match, which would probably destroy any hype.
Worst case scenario, we can bet on Link saying “Well, Excuse Me, Princess!” at least once and plenty of other memes to come out of production. But fingers crossed we may end up in the ‘good’ timeline where Illumination doesn’t play it safe and friendly, ensuring the Zelda franchise is done justice and years of good and fun Nintendo movies are on the horizon.
