After “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” made over $1.3 billion at the global box office, it’s safe to say that Illumination is pretty pleased with its partnership with Nintendo. The new film now ranks as Illumination’s highest-grossing film, surging past 2015’s “Minions” at $1.159 billion to top that list. So will the computer animation studio embark on another project with Nintendo soon, like a rumored “The Legend Of Zelda” movie?
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According to The Wrap, it’s a hard no. Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri shot down the “Zelda” rumors at the Annecy International Animation Festival. “I don’t know where that came from,” Meledandri said of rumors that Illumination would bring Link to the big screen. “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.”
Benjamin Renner, director of Illumination’s upcoming “Migration,” then stepped into the room and added, “I see one rumor every week,” backing up Meledandri’s words. But with Meledandri now on Nintendo’s board of directors, Universal will likely want to capitalize on Illumination’s successful partnership with Nintendo for another project. Universal has already done so with its Super Nintendo Worlds, its theme parks in Japan and California; a third one opens in Orlando, Florida in 2025. But those parks all orient around Mario and the wide array of characters surrounding him. At least so far, there are no Link or Zelda areas in Japan or California.
So while it’s safe to assume Illumination will make a sequel to “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” the rumors about “The Legend Of Zelda” appear to be baseless. But that could always change. Still, that’s hard news for fans who got their hopes about the rumors when they started swirling earlier this week.