Of all of Nintendo’s home consoles released over the decades, the Nintendo 64 remains one of the most beloved. While its legacy holds strong to this day, one of the most beloved franchises from the era hasn’t been as lucky, that being Banjo-Kazooie. While the series seems all but lost to time nowadays, at one point that wasn’t the case, with a TV show even being in the works. Unfortunately, even that plan fell through, and the reason as to why still remains a mystery today.
Back in 2007, not long before the release of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, 4Kids Entertainment was working on what would have been a Banjo-Kazooie cartoon. While it was ultimately cancelled, it seems that those who worked on the project were left in the dark as to why. In an interview with Time Extension, former storyboard artist and character designer Emilio Lopez stated that no reason was ever given as to why it came to an end.
“The higher ups did their pitch and it all just stopped. I remember asking after not hearing anything and they would say they heard nothing back. To be honest, this is pretty common in the entertainment and games industry. You rarely hear, ‘Oh hey, this is not what we are looking for.’ It just stops and is never given a reason. For whatever reason Microsoft did not see this as something that they wanted to invest in.”
Given that nearly 20 years have passed since then, it seems unlikely that any specific reason will be given at this point. To add insult to injury, the release of Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts the following year would be the last new installment the franchise would see up to this day. It’s easy to conclude that this time period marked an internal turning point against Banjo-Kazooie, but whether or not that’s actually true is impossible to say for sure.
Images source: Time Extension
More Banjo-Kazooie
Banjo-Kazooie director Gregg Mayles is departing from Rare after 35 years
First 4 Figures reveals Tooty as its latest Banjo-Kazooie statue
The ‘majestic’ Banjo-Kazooie animatronic from the ’90s commercial recently sold for $2,100
Leave a Comment
Written by Abbie Maxwell
Lifelong Nintendo fangirl, Abbie holds a special place in her heart for video games. She has always strived to provide tips and tricks to make the experiences of those who share her passions that much better.
