A few days after rumors surfaced of a The Legend of Zelda movie deal, Illumination Studios CEO Chris Meledandri has denied the rumor, prompting the original source to clarify the rumor further.
Speaking to TheWrap, who found an opportunity to raise the question at the Annecy International Animation Festival, Chris had this response:
“I don’t know where that came from. 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 reports. This is just about what’s next between Nintendo and Illumination.”
TheWrap characterizes this response as a denial, but if you read it, Chris doesn’t expressly say, the movie doesn’t exist, or we didn’t sign a deal with Nintendo. Chris only says that he doesn’t know where the rumor came from.
We have traced the source of that rumor for you when it initially spread out. Hollywood insider Jeff Sneider put his reputation on the line when he revealed this rumor in a recent podcast.
Jeff said that Universal had finished penning a deal with Nintendo to tie down a potential The Legend of Zelda movie with them. Jeff also stated that this would be another Illumination Studios project.
Jeff was now compelled to respond to TheWrap story, and he has done so now, in the latest episode of John Rocha’s The Hot Mic.
To sum up Jeff’s comments, he is standing by his initial claim that Universal is finalizing this deal with Nintendo. He is clarifying, however, that his source did not say that Illumination Studios would be making the movie.
Jeff admits that he just assumed Illumination would be making the film since they were so successful with the Super Mario Bros Movie.
So Jeff now acquiesces that if Universal locks this deal, that movie could be with Illumination, or with Dreamwork. It could even be a live action movie! But he doesn’t have that information that far in advance.
And, as Jeff explained, it’s not possible for him to get that information anyway. Universal won’t be tying down the company making the The Legend of Zelda movie until they actually get Nintendo to sign the rights to them.
For what it’s worth, Hollywood isn’t entirely unlike the video game industry when it comes to production. So if Illumination and Dreamworks turn out to be too busy or not ready to handle this project, there’s no reason that Universal wouldn’t look for external studios to make this The Legend of Zelda movie for them.
Lest we forget, Universal Pictures remains one of the heavyweights in Hollywood. The studio that begat Jaws, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, The Fast and The Furious, etc. has more than enough money, influence, and clout to do a The Legend of Zelda movie, whether that’s animated or live action.
Even if we don’t know what studio will be making The Legend of Zelda movie yet, having Universal at the helm already means it could be poised to be one of the biggest video game movies ever made.
