The LEGO Movie did a good job of bringing together several franchises in Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, DC Super Heroes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and many, many more – and it’s producer would like to do the same thing again with Nintendo.
“Zelda, Mario, the whole universe of characters, I feel like could be perfect for a LEGO Movie-type movie,” Roy Lee said at DICE Summit 2016. “I don’t have the rights to it; I would love to – that’s my holy grail.”
The last time a Nintendo character made it to the big screen was in 1993 with the much-maligned Super Mario Bros., thought to be one of the worst video game movies ever made. Donkey Kong also featured in last year’s Pixels, which wasn’t well-received either. It was announced in December 2014 that Sony had acquired the rights to make an animated movie based around Super Mario Bros. (as well as his 90s rival Sonic the Hedgehog), so it seems unlikely that Lee will get his wish anytime soon.
The Nintendo characters often come together for games like Mario Tennis and Mario Kart, but are best known for crossing over in the Super Smash Bros. series, which sees characters from The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong Country, Kirby and Earthbound come together for a big fight. The most recent game has also seen cameos from Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man, Final Fantasy VII and Street Fighter.
Originally published February 19, 2016. Updated June 30, 2023.
