While rumors that Nintendo is about to land a deal with animation studio Illumination for a Legend of Zelda movie shouldn’t come as a surprise following the record-breaking success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, some fans online have made it clear that they are not so excited about this possible pairing.
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In a recent episode of The Hot Mic podcast, reporter Jeff Sneider said he received a tip from “a great source” suggesting that Universal Pictures, Illumination’s parent company, is close to signing a deal with Nintendo for to complete a future Zelda movie.
“Zelda… looks like the next big Illumination Nintendo franchise, which I think we all kind of expected, but I’m told that’s happening and it’s going to cost Universal a pretty penny due to the success of Super Mario.” Nintendo kind of knows what it’s worth at this point, but yeah, I’ve been told that’s going to become a reality now,” Sneider said.
Kotaku has reached out to Nintendo for comment.
Fans think Nintendo should look elsewhere for a Zelda film studio
Although Illumination had great success with the Mario movie, Despicable Me may not seem like the studio’s first choice for adapting the fantasy video game for some Zelda fans, who may see the studio’s tendency towards shiny, upbeat films -Being a franchise is a disproportion to a series whose stories are often poignant and laced with magical mysteries.
In particular, some fans have expressed fear at the thought of an Illumination Legend of Zelda movie being packed pop song needle drop, A tendency seen not only in the Mario Bros. film but also in the studio’s other films. (Eminem, anyone?) Zelda fans also dread enduring a slew of glitzy casting announcements packed with Hollywood stars for a movie based on the popular series. Here’s some of what people are saying about the rumored Zelda movie deal.
“I enjoyed the Mario movie, but I can say with confidence that Illumination is NOT the right studio to make a Zelda movie,” wrote YouTuber Penny Parker on Twitter. “I didn’t say it was going to be bad, but they couldn’t even muster the reluctance to bring non-80 licensed songs into Mario, a franchise already revered for its iconic music.”
“I was so excited to see the lighting on the Mario movie, but the thought of them doing a Zelda movie has me on edge, LOL,” said Twitter user Velsmells. “I know it too [animation studio] Fortiche is definitely busy with Arcane S2, but it would be so cool to see an entire Zelda movie in their style,” they continued, adding images from the hit League of Legends series to support their argument.
“I agree, I don’t think Illumination is the right solution for the Zelda IP at all. Just saying, if they HAVE to be, Toon Link is the most appropriate way to go,” Twitter user UltimaShadowX wrote in a separate thread, referencing Link’s cel-shaded look in The Wind Waker. “The idea of DreamWorks making a The Last Wish style Zelda movie would be insanely hype and preferable.”
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While an animated adaptation of Zelda appears to come with challenges that the Mario film didn’t have, it makes sense that Nintendo might want to cast its sword-wielding hero to the big screen, considering the Mario film recently revived Disney’s The According to Variety, “Frozen” has surpassed “Frozen” as the second greatest animated film of all time.
During a Mario Movie press interview with Japanese news publication Nikkei (translated by Video Games Chronicle), Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Zelda and Mario, expressed interest in future movie projects as long as they focus on “characters fit for the movie, and characters who…” are well known.” When asked about the possibility of a Zelda movie in a recent interview with Polygon, Tears of the Kingdom producer Eiji Aonuma was excited about the idea, saying, “I’m definitely into it Case interested.” But unfortunately, I’m not only interested in something that makes things possible.”