You might as well tell your Korok friends to sit tight and put away your Master Sword because, according to Chris Meledandri, the founder and CEO of Illumination, the rumor about a movie based on The Legend of Zelda being in development is false. Late last week, news leaker Daniel Richtman posted an article to his Patreon saying adaptations of The Legend of Zelda, Luigi’s Mansion, Donkey Kong, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2 are actively developing. However, The Wrap spoke with Meledandri at the Annecy International Animation Festival about possibly bringing Link and Princess Zelda to the silver screen, and the Illumination chief says he has no idea where that rumor started.
“I don’t know where that came from,” Meledandri said about the Legend of Zelda rumor. “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. This is just about what’s next between Nintendo and Illumination.”
Since the release and overwhelming success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, rumors about future collaborations between Nintendo and Illumination have been popping up all over. While we know the studios are quietly working on a sequel to this year’s Mario movie, it sounds like any other project is speculation.
However, the fact remains that Nintendo is making a hard push to expand with the opening of two Super Nintendo World attractions at Universal theme parks in Japan and California, and rumors about a new video game set in the Mario universe are all the rage. With Hollywood eager to turn everything into a money-printing franchise, we will likely see more Nintendo properties adapted as time passes. I can’t imagine a world where Nintendo leaves The Legend of Zelda out of the adaptation loop. It’s likely too soon to say.
What do you think is the likelihood of Nintendo adapting The Legend of Zelda for the big screen? Do you think Nintendo and Illumination are quietly working on an adaptation and don’t want to say anything yet? Let us know in the comments below.