The upcoming Legend of Zelda movie seems to imply the birth of a Nintendo cinematic universe since it follows up the success of The Super Mario Bros Movie—but will these films be connected? As two of Nintendo’s most prominent properties, Mario and Zelda are the perfect start for Nintendo’s emergence into Hollywood. However, the fact that the same production company isn’t managing these two films makes the idea of a shared Universe a little more complicated. Still, there may be a way the characters of The Legend of Zelda and The Super Mario Bros could come together in Hollywood down the line.
The 2023 film The Super Mario Bros Movie was a massive success, grossing $1.36 billion at the global box office. It’s the first Nintendo film to have performed so well, with previous Mario adaptations (like the cursed 1993 Super Mario Bros) being definitive flops. It wasn’t long after the film hit theaters that questions about a Legend of Zelda movie began to bounce around the airwaves, but Illumination was quick to announce that they had no plans to follow up Mario with a Zelda spinoff. Thankfully, that wasn’t the end of the matter, since Nintendo and Arad Productions Inc. are coming together to make a live-action Legend of Zelda movie a reality.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s Success Made A Nintendo Shared Universe Possible
There’s little doubt that the Legend of Zelda movie was made possible by the success of The Super Mario Bros Movie. Both properties are several decades old and have had unsuccessful screen adaptations in the past, which made Nintendo pretty choosy about how their IP was used. For years, attempts by Hollywood studios to make movies or TV shows using these beloved characters were rejected. Director Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Zelda and Mario, explained in an interview with Variety that Nintendo was “fearful of all the failure of past IP adaptations, where there’s a license and a distance between the original creators and the creators of the films.”
Illumination seemed to have gotten over the hump with The Super Mario Bros movie by ensuring that Nintendo stayed closely involved. Miyamoto was an executive producer on the project, and this ensured that the film wasn’t just a screen adaptation but a respectful celebration of Mario. Since the feedback on the film has been overwhelmingly positive, Nintendo has decided to cautiously move forward with more adaptations, and since Miyamoto will again be producing the live-action Legend of Zelda movie (via CNBC), there’s a great chance it will see similar success. This implies a shared universe, but this so far doesn’t seem part of the plan.
The Live-Action Legend Of Zelda Is Not Directly Connected To The Super Mario Bros. Movie
Though the Legend of Zelda movie is undoubtedly happening because of The Super Mario Bros Movie, they aren’t otherwise connected. First, the Mario movie is Illumination through and through, with the studio’s pronounced 3D animation style difficult to miss. This won’t be the case for the Zelda movie, which Nintendo has made clear will be live-action. This will mean a significantly different flavor from one film to the other. Zelda may still be aimed at younger audiences, but it’s unlikely to be as silly. Instead, we can likely expect a more dramatic fantasy adventure.
Since Illumination doesn’t do live-action (the only exception being the 2011 Easter movie, Hop), another studio has stepped in to handle the Legend of Zelda movie. The project will be financed by Sony Pictures Entertainment and produced (along with Nintendo) by Arad Productions Inc. Therefore, there shouldn’t be any real connections between The Super Mario Bros Movie and the upcoming live-action Legend of Zelda movie. This rules out any sequels for either film that tie them together in the same way as the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
How Legend Of Zelda & Mario Are Connected In The Video Games
Though Mario and Zelda were both products of Nintendo created by Miyamoto, their in-game universes don’t connect. Mario and Princess Peach live in the Mushroom Kingdom and travel to different worlds in one way or another, while the Zelda games span thousands of years in the kingdom of Hyrules, following various incarnations of Link and Zelda. The games are of two entirely different styles, intended for different age groups, and featuring different methods of gameplay. Though games like Super Smash Bros bring the characters together to battle it out, these exist outside of either canon.
Though Link and Mario’s worlds are entirely separate from one another, there are various Mario Easter Eggs in the Zelda Games. Paintings of Mario and Princess Peach can be seen in Hyrule Castle in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and the reoccurring characters Talon and Ingo have long been thought to be based on Mario and Luigi. Still, these are meant to be fun references to Nintendo’s flagship franchise rather than legitimate connections between universes. Something similar could certainly be expected within the Legend of Zelda movie, but aside from this, there’s nothing within the games to spark a cinematic crossover.
Will Legend Of Zelda & Super Mario Crossover In A Future Movie?
Though nothing within the lore of either Mario or Zelda would support a movie crossover, it’s always possible that Nintendo will conceive of something new. The company is still relatively new to the world of cinema, and if the Legend of Zelda movie is as big a success as The Super Mario Bros Movie, Nintendo will surely work on some new ideas. Still, canonically joining Link and Mario’s worlds isn’t the way to go. Instead, the best bet to bring these characters together on screen would be through a Super Smash Bros movie.
Though the platform fighter doesn’t belong within the canon for either Zelda or Mario, Super Smash Bros does have its own unique lore. The title brings together dozens of Nintendo characters to fight one another, but it is revealed that each is an action figure, or trophy, brought to life by the series’ antagonist, Master Hand. This means that a movie that has nothing to do with either The Super Mario Bros Movie or the upcoming Legend of Zelda movie could be produced while still bringing the beloved characters of both on the same screen. It’s not quite a shared Nintendo universe, but it may be as close as we can get.
Sources: Variety, CNBC
