Cognition Dissemination: Suggestions for the Nintendo Cinematic Universe

Shigeru Miyamoto, the longtime and venerable Nintendo creator, designer, and producer, has been making the interview rounds since The Super Mario Bros. Movie released in most territories, and ahead of the April 28th Japanese release. He dropped a slightly significant tidbit while discussing the potential for more Nintendo franchise adaptations with Japanese newspaper Nikkei, as translated by Nintendo Everything:

“Nintendo is like a talent agency. We have plenty of other entertainers…There are many possible ways we could go, such as using characters that would be fit for movies, or very well-known characters.”

I said “slightly significant” because it’s not too surprising that Nintendo is actively thinking of more ways in which to utilize their characters outside the video gaming space, if they haven’t already made plans internally. The Mario Movie has made around $872 million in the worldwide box office as of this writing, and will cross $1 billion any day now. Nintendo will want to capitalize on this immense success; the precise way in which they’ll do so is the intriguing question. Their very next steps are worth contemplating, since it would take far too long to comb through every Nintendo franchise to discuss their storytelling potential — in one post, anyway.

More Mario Franchise Movies

Just as it’s unsurprising that Nintendo is considering producing more adaptations of their properties, it won’t be surprising when a direct Mario movie sequel is confirmed. My specific hope (and minor prediction) is that it will lead to spinoffs derived from either plot threads established in the first movie or through utilizing ideas from Mario video game spinoffs. A Donkey Kong movie featuring Seth Rogen’s interpretation would be popular, and assuredly nothing like the old CG-animated cartoon that people tend to forget about even if they watched it as it aired. That is, unless they’ve stumbled upon an unhealthy number of memes.

I would personally like to see them take on a Luigi’s Mansion film. It could coexist with a Mario sequel through how different the tones would be, despite Luigi himself being featured in both. There are several examples of other CG-animated movies aimed towards families with light horror elements, but this would offer a unique feel of its own compared to the Mario movie and those like, for example, The Addams Family films. This work would respect the series and its characters, and those such as Luigi himself and Professor E. Gadd them more personality. I have faith in it.

The Legend of Zelda

Suggesting that Nintendo produce and fund a movie based off The Legend of Zelda franchise is far from an original idea, but it’s still worth suggesting thanks to its sheer potential. The movie could follow a traditional franchise plot that involves Link going on an adventure to save Princess Zelda without quite making her a useless damsel in distress, in the same way Illumination did for Princess Peach. Link himself would meet plenty of characters along the way, including unique-but-identifiable forms of Impa and Marin.

I’d prefer it if the adventure served as a welcome callback to older family fantasy adventure movies, as a nod to the franchise’s origins in being inspired by classic Tom Cruise fantasy film Legend. The designs for the characters, through the images I’ve concocted in my head, would have Link, Zelda, and Ganon looking close to their Ocarina of Time selves, but with outfits reminiscent of their older NES and SNES threads. (I’d include unique art here if I could draw worth a damn, believe me.) It would be similar to its Mario movie counterpart through including elements for both the younger and older sets of moviegoers.

I wouldn’t be surprised if someone within Nintendo or Illumination, or both, has a movie planned with this same concept and potential aesthetic in mind. Don’t take any of this as me proclaiming myself a visionary. But for a unique and perhaps unpopular suggestion: I wouldn’t mind it if they got a teenage girl who happened to be a tabletop Dungeons & Dragons fan to assist with the script, for positive nostalgia’s sake.

Splatoon

Mario and Zelda are one matter, but the franchise Nintendo owns with the most potential for storytelling expansion is Splatoon. The franchise has a higher number of main characters and unique stories that could be focuses in any kind of adaptation, similar to those from the campaigns from both Splatoon 2 and 3 and more. A production company could create their own scenario around the game’s world that wouldn’t conflict with the franchise’s overarching story starring original Inkling characters capable of speech, while featuring established faces like Callie and Marie. The adaptation could even be about them.

This wouldn’t necessarily have to be created by a western company, through I have faith that one of them, Illumination or otherwise, could do a fine-enough job realizing its potential, beyond capturing the trademark aesthetic. Splatoon’s anime-inspired style could be faithfully replicated in, well, its own anime, be it a series, a special, or a movie. The result here should be something more substantial than the motion comic adaptation of the short manga series. An anime series, of course, should have opening and closing themes that qualify as “banging,” or “dope,” or whatever the hell the kids say these days.

There’s nothing stopping Nintendo from green lighting all of these, given the immense storytelling potential. There is one cue the adaptation should take from the motion comic: Having the Inklings speak normally. Perhaps an alternate audio option featuring Splatoon’s unique language with subtitles for purists could be created if that’s feasible.

The clearest revelation to understand from the start of this year is how the entertainment world will see several more adaptations of video games. Those which have been announced, including TV adaptations for Twisted Metal, Fallout, God of War, and Horizon Zero Dawn. The HBO adaptation of The Last of Us and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, show the immense potential for success that lies within the ideas. Nintendo doesn’t have anything further announced, but this is a case of when they’ll confirm them. They could even do so in a dedicated Nintendo Direct.