Nintendo wants to lean hard into movies. After the astronomical success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, why wouldn’t it? But Mario actor Chris Pratt is dreaming even bigger—He wants the company to think beyond just having an adaptation in theaters every few years and consider an extended film universe.
In an interview with Screen Rant, Pratt said there’s material in all of Nintendo’s big franchises to create a “Nintendo Cinematic Universe” to rival something like Marvel’s interconnected films. He’s not wrong. There’s a reason Super Smash Bros. exists. Nintendo has so many beloved characters and worlds to draw from that it sustains one of the biggest crossovers in video game history.
But it does leave one to wonder what a Nintendo Cinematic Universe looks like. Mario was an origin story for the titular plumber, and if Nintendo is looking to make introductory movies for its heroes, there’s a surprising amount of genre variety the company could pull from leading into a hypothetical Super Smash Bros. movie. Grab your popcorn and Switch, Nintendo fans. Let’s speculate about what some other Nintendo movies might look like.
Star Fox
Imagine this: Fox McCloud is a rookie arwing pilot in his first year of flight academy. He’s cocky, but that’d be a dude he’s compensating for a life lived under his father James’ shadow. His dad is a legendary pilot and everyone clearly has a lot of expectations for Fox as his son. At school he meets his friends Falco and Slippy, and under the guidance of his teacher Peppy Hare, they undergo their training to become the titular Star Fox team. But can he overcome the pressures (internal and external), and save the galaxy from an incoming threat? He’s only a beginner on paper, but inside, he has the blood of a legend. He was born to be a pilot. Come on, tell me you aren’t itching to see Nintendo’s take on Top Gun?
Fire Emblem
When I proposed an animated Fire Emblem film would be a political fantasy drama, Kotaku staff writer Moises Taveras said “Fire Emblem as Game of Thrones for kids goes so hard.” Which is true, because that’s basically what Fire Emblem is in video game form—a lot of politicking, intrigue, catty interpersonal relationships, and big fantasy battles. You don’t even need me to spell out how a Three Houses movie would play out because it’s basically Game of Thrones without the on-screen sex.
F-Zero
Sony was able to make a Gran Turismo movie, a series without characters, into a live-action film that did pretty alright for itself. So if Nintendo wants to get in on the toy car market by putting out an F-Zero movie, they’re even more primed for success. Kids love a racing movie, and more than anything else, they love to buy toy cars based on racing movies. How do you think we ended up with three Cars films despite that whole franchise being mid as hell? F-Zero at least has a colorful cast of weirdos to put behind the wheel. And you know they’d put in a scene where Captain Falcon straight up Falcon Punches a car on the tracks. The crowd goes wild.
Animal Crossing
Nintendo’s life simulator is probably better for an animated television series than it is a movie, but imagine it: a workplace comedy starring Tom Nook, Isabelle, and all the other villagers. Isabelle has already been compared to workplace comedy royalty Parks and Recreation‘s Leslie Knope, and putting all those other colourful characters in the workplace documentary format of that or The Office is a great way to adapt the spirit of a video game into a new medium. You spend dozens to hundreds of hours in Animal Crossing dealing with the thorny-but-endearing aspects of coexisting with others. Just put Isabelle in front of a camera and let her bitch about her work day.
Punch-Out
Punch-Out is another example of a game so well-suited to a specific film genre that you can easily envision its plot beats. The Rocky movies are the blueprint for boxing films, and Punch-Out could be easily mapped onto something along those lines. Little Mac coming up the ranks in his local boxing tournament is primed to teach kids not to give up in the face of struggle. The matches would be flashy and action-packed, and so long as Little Mac doesn’t find himself on the wrong side of a corner stool like a million-dollar baby, it should be a feel-good experience for the whole family.
The Legend of Zelda
For this one, we won’t have to speculate for too long, as Nintendo already has a Legend of Zelda movie in the works. However, it will be live-action, unlike the Mario movie. Director Wes Ball has stated he wants the film to prioritize those live-action elements instead of relying on CGI, so it sounds like we’ll likely get a more realistic take on the series with more practical effects. That probably throws out stuff like Wind Waker’s sea-faring travel or Twilight Princess’ wolf transformations. But it would be refreshing if it was more inspired by the original NES game, which doesn’t delve into the complex lore of future games.
Metroid
Samus Aran’s story is probably the darkest of any of the games we have listed here, which makes adapting it into a hypothetical animated feature film a bit more complicated. Metroid games are often isolating, with its heroine off on some space-faring mission by her lonesome. A movie that captures that essence would likely be more along the lines of Alien than something comparable to The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Damn, I’m actually really into this idea but it will never get approved by Nintendo.
Kid Icarus
Though I played plenty of Kid Icarus as a kid, it was overshadowed by NES games with a bit more oomph: your Marios, your Zeldas, your Metroids. (Well, there was only one NES Metroid but you get my point.) But now, whenever I revisit it, I appreciate the inviting, distinctly Nintendo charm of its take on Greek mythology, a hot topic these days days thanks to Supergiant’s super-successful roguelike Hades (and its sequel). But Hades features overtly sexy gods and their sexy sex lives; Nintendo, ever the family-friendly company, may want something that capitalizes on the appeal of a world of gods and adventure, but that’s squarely aimed at the younger set. That makes this precisely the moment for a big Kid Icarus comeback.
With its cherubic hero Pit and its charming take on a Greek-inspired land of myth and monsters, a Kid Icarus film could walk that line of being entertaining to both kids and their parents, with plenty of charm and humor the little ones can enjoy, but also moments of genuine thrills and peril. I mean look, the Eggplant Wizards, who literally turn you into an eggplant, scared the hell out of me as a kid. Hmm. “Eggplant Wizards” may play a bit differently today. Ah well, that’s a problem for Nintendo to deal with. In any case, Kid Icarus would be fantastic source material for an upbeat, crowd pleasing, comedic adventure film for the whole family that leans into Greek mythology in a lighthearted way but still fires the imaginations of children with its sense of magic and possibility. If the Zelda movie is going for a more grounded approach—and it sounds like it is—then let Kid Icarus fill the more breezy, kid-friendly fantasy adventure niche in Nintendo’s cinematic offerings. And put out a great new Kid Icarus game alongside it, too!—Carolyn Petit
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