Nintendo’s ‘Zelda,’ ‘Super Mario 2,’ ‘Donkey Kong,’ and ‘Luigi’ in Development at Illumination

Earlier this year, Universal Studios gave the masses what they wanted. I just honestly didn’t know it was going to be a Nintendo movie.

‘Super Mario’ was deeply indebted in ‘80s nostalgia, it was most-certainly IP and very harmless entertainment. The result is it grossing $1.3 billion worldwide.

I wrote in April:

Bad reviews haven’t stopped the momentum either. ‘Super Mario’ is entertaining the masses, and there will be many sequels to come now. You can also expect spin-off upon spin-off. It’s going to be never-ending. You have been warned.

That’s why it doesn’t come as much of a shock to read a report that Universal and Illumination are close to a deal in bringing Nintendo’s “Legend of Zelda” to the big screen.

Another report is saying that it’s not just ‘Zelda.’ Also in development are “Super Mario Bros 2”, “Luigi's Mansion”, “Donkey Kong” and “Zelda.” Illumination is in charge of them.

In some fashion, Nintendo might very well dethrone Marvel’s 10+ year reign as box-office king with these upcoming movies.

Moviegoing is not dying. Nostalgia sells. As Scorsese described these popular blockbusters, they are “roller coaster rides” and they are thriving. They bring out many generations of moviegoers, most of which grew up playing Nintendo games in the ‘80s, ‘90s, ‘00s etc.

Now, what about old-school cinema? The arthouse isn’t making much money these days. The demographic for those types of films have all migrated to streaming content at home.