The Legend of Zelda movie nearing deal with Illumination

Hyrule is calling our name, and after the success of the Mario Movie, Illumination and Universal are reportedly nearing a deal that will bring the next big Nintendo IP to life. 

After the Tears of the Kingdom team said they're "ready" for a Zelda movie, Jeff Sneider claims a Zelda movie is "close to official." Although it's not been announced yet, the hype of the Mario Movie - and recent release of Tears of the Kingdom bringing the fantasy epic back to the forefront of gaming - means it'd be a smart move. 

Will the Zelda movie be live-action?

Sadly, the fact Illumination is supposedly nearing a deal means we'll be getting another animated outing. The Minions overlord gave the Mushroom Kingdom an animated overhaul, and it sounds like Zelda will be getting the same.

Then again, with the Mario and Zelda games having very different art styles, it remains to be seen whether a Zelda movie would be a continuation of Mario's world or a brand-new aesthetic. Either way, Sneider refers to it "as the next big Illumination-Nintendo franchise," suggesting it could leapfrog the Mario Movie sequel. 

We had pinned our hopes on a live-action Zelda - especially after those faux posters got us pumped for a Netflix series. We don't know where you'd even begin with trying to adapt the complex lore of the Zeldaverse, but after Illumination proved critics wrong with Mario, we're excited to see where this one could go. 

As Mario is the highest-grossing movie of 2023 and the highest-grossing video game movie of all time while boasting $1.3 billion at the box office, we're sure this is just the start of your favourite Nintendo games getting the box office treatment. Okay, now do Metroid.

More to follow...