According to movie insider Jeff Sneider (via YouTuber John Rocha), a deal to produce a film based on The Legend of Zelda is nearly done between Nintendo and Illumination, the Santa Monica-based computer animation studio behind Despicable Me, Minions, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Here's what Sneider reported on the deal:
I don't think what I'm about to say is a huge surprise. I think everyone's sort of anticipating this news but I got this tip last week during the show from a great source and I didn't want to just blurt it out. So I did call yesterday, never heard back, so we're just gonna put it out there.
Again, not a big shocker, but from what I'm told it is getting close to official. I'm told that Universal is in fact closing a big deal with Nintendo Corporation for The Legend of Zelda. It is looking like the next big Illumination-Nintendo franchise which again, I think we were all sort of expecting, but I'm told that that is happening and it's going to cost Universal a pretty penny because of the success of Super Mario. Nintendo kind of knows its worth at this point. But yeah, I'm told that that is now going to be a reality.
Despite being one of the oldest and most successful IPs in gaming, The Legend of Zelda only got a short-lived 13-episode animated TV series adaptation that aired in the United States in 1989. Netflix tried to make a live action TV adaptation in 2015, but following a leak appeared on the Wall Street Journal, Nintendo pulled back and the project was canceled.
This Zelda movie would be the first proper adaptation. It certainly seems the right time, following on the heels of the smashing success registered with The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which grossed over $1.3 billion at the box office, making
Read more on wccftech.com