The CEO of Illumination Entertainment, Chris Melendandri, is addressing the recent rumors of an upcoming film adaptation forThe Legend of Zeldafollowing his studio’s massive success withThe Super Mario Bros. Movie. Both franchises have been particularly relevant this year due to the movie and the release ofThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
The Super Mario Bros. Moviebeat the oddsby becoming a critically and commercially successful video game movie, as well as the highest-grossing movie ever produced by Illumination. The results of that success left many Nintendo fans wondering if the film company will continue to work on future adaptations of Nintendo franchises. One of the biggest franchises that’s been thrown around, which many consider long overdue for a film, isThe Legend of Zelda. Now the CEO of Illumination has addressed the rumors that a movie may already be in the works.
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Chris Meledandri spoke with TheWrap who asked him abouta potentialThe Legend of Zeldafilmat the Annecy International Animation Festival. Meledandri didn’t necessarily seem too eager to give a confirmation to the rumors, responding, “I don’t know where that came from. I mean I can understand how people would surmise all sorts of things because obviously, we’ve had a great experience working together.”
So, as of right now, the speculation from fans is likely to continue for aThe Legend of Zeldafilm since the Illumination CEO didn’t outright deny it. However, Meledandri, also does mention that the partnership between Illumination and Nintendo has been very fruitful, even leading to him gaining a position on Nintendo’s board of directors. With that in mind, it certainly doesn’t seem as though the partnership between the two companieswill be ending withThe Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Whether or not Nintendo and Illumination will continue to work together in the future isn’t so much what’s in question. WithThe Super Mario Bros. Moviebeing both the highest-grossing Illumination and video game film of all time, it would seem nearly impossible forThe Super Mario Bros. Moviemovie not to get a sequel. The question is how this partnership will continue to expand in other ways. Nintendo was notoriously not open to adaptations for several decades following the failure of the last attempt at aMario Bros.movie in 1993, leaving franchiseslikeThe Legend of Zelda,Kirby, andMetroidwithout any medium for those storiesother than the video games. Illumination is denying it now, but the future may see more coming for Nintendo properties other than just the group from the Mushroom Kingdom.
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