For good reason, Illumination and Nintendo are very happy with how their partnership is turning out. The Super Mario Bros Movie has gone gangbusters, earning over $1.3B at the box office and surpassing Minions as Illumination’s highest-grossing movie. And in the wake of that success, rumors have been flying about which Nintendo property would be next. Of course, The Legend of Zelda is the one that gets talked about most.
However, it ain’t happening. At least, that’s what Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri said at the Annecy International Animation Festival. According to TheWrap, Meledandri shot the rumor down, saying “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. 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 rumors [about]. This is just about what’s next between Nintendo and Illumination.”
And what’s next for Illumination is this December’s Migration, from director Benjamin Renner.
I’m sure that Meledandri was being truthful in that moment, but let’s be realistic here. Universal and Nintendo are going to want to maximize this relationship with Nintendo, and that means the upcoming Mario Bros sequel, probably a Zelda movie, a Metroid movie, and many more. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is one of the most popular games in the world right now. So while the rumor might not be true today, they will be eventually and all of those people who have been spreading it can say “See, I told you so!”
