The Super Mario Bros. Movie made as a collab between Illumination and Nintendo made, proverbially speaking all of the money ($1.3 billion, the second highest grossing animated film ever made), so it’s only natural that people are wondering what’s next. Along with a sequel in early production, a recent rumor suggested that Illumination would be tackling a Legend of Zelda movie imminently. Well, The Wrap spoke with Illumination head Chris Meledandri at the Annecy International Animation Festival, who categorically refuted the report.
“I don’t know where that came from,” he said. “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.”
So while the partnership between the two companies is very strong – to the point that Meledandri is on Nintendo’s board – there’s nothing in motion regarding the matter yet. While an animated Zelda is a logical progression, we’ll have to see if that’s where the companies’ partnership ends up going.
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Written by Amelia Fruzzetti
A writer and Nintendo fan based in Seattle, Washington. When not working for NinWire, she can be found eating pasta, writing stories, and wondering about when Mother 3 is finally going to get an official localization.
