It’s been more than 37 years since The Legend of Zelda franchise began, more than 25 years since Ocarina of Time first took Link into 3D, and just over a month since that world expanded beyond imagination with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The massive popularity of the Breath of the Wild sequel, coming months after The Super Mario Bros. Movie crushed out with its billion-dollar box office run, no doubt has made more than a few fans wonder about the potential existence of a Link-fronted feature happening at some point, as recent rumors have indicated. According to Mario studio Illumination’s big boss, however, there are no such plans in place, although it doesn’t sound like the idea has been ruled out completely or anything.
With the dulcet tones of Jack Black-as-Bowser’s “Peaches” keeping that track in the running for best 2023 earworm, the rumor mill was recently playing the “Song of Soaring” with a report surfacing that pointed to Illumination quietly collaborating with Nintendo on a Legend of Zelda feature. But the company’s CEO and founder Chris Meledandri told The Wrap that such reports aren’t necessarily correct. In his words:
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. This is just about what’s next between Nintendo and Illumination.
Even for a studio head, that was quite the idiosyncratic way to call out a claim as being wrong, in that he doesn’t 100% say will never happen, but only indicates that he’s also been hearing those rumors. As well, he attributes the Zelda talk to people surmising things based on professional relationships, which would seem to indicate that the news couldn’t possibly have come from Nintendo or Illumination.
I Know Nintendo Hasn't Announced A Legend Of Zelda Movie Yet, But If They Did...
To his point, Meledandri now being on Nintendo’s board of directors does put him in a unique position to crank out more video game adaptations through Illumination Entertainment. And since The Legend of Zelda is on the same top-tier level as Mario in terms of legacy and global popularity, fans would love to see a well-crafted take on Hyrule’s legendary hero hitting the big screen at some point. But even if everyone at the company was 100% on board with adapting the non-linear franchise, it might be a smarter move to tackle another property with slightly less history tied to it, just to make sure they can deliver another winner.
It should go without saying, but the Zelda and Mario franchises boast vastly different tones, with the surreal nature of the Mushroom Kingdom and surrounding worlds being easily playable for laughs in a scripted, non-gaming format. Link's journeys, while occasionally funny and bizarre, are often fueled by quest-related panic, monster-fighting action and lengthy sections of contemplative traveling and puzzle-solving. Which isn't to say those elements wouldn't work within an animated movie, comedic or otherwise. But I'm just not fully yet behind the idea of Ganondorf being an in-studio colleague of Gru from Despicable Me and the many Minions-based projects. Even if it would allow for Zelda and Mario to potentially engage in crossover fun.
This definitely isn't the only time that Zelda project rumors have surfaced, only to be squashed soon after. Back in 2015, it was reported that Netflix was working on an LoZ TV series, which a Nintendo exec was quick to deny at the time, even if speculation continued for a while afterward. Now, there's no reason to think anyone but Illumination will take Epona's reins one day with a big-screen adventure for Link & Co., but we shouldn't think about it too hard until the point when they actually start producing one.
