After Legend of Zelda, five Nintendo franchises that should head to the big screen

The big screen adaptation of The Legend of Zelda, one of Nintendo’s most beloved video game series, now has a release date: March 26, 2027.

Details were first unveiled in November 2023 by series creator Shigeru Miyamoto. The film will be directed by Wes Ball, who is known for Maze Runner and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.

The highly-anticipated adaptation comes after the huge success of The Super Mario Bros Movie, which made more than $1.3 billion worldwide after its release in 2023.

Nintendo has many other beloved characters and video games in its vast library. Here are five that should get the big screen treatment after The Legend of Zelda.

Metroid

The first game in the Metroid series was released in 1987 on the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America. Since then, it has become a series with a rabid fanbase that follows each prospective new game with unbridled excitement.

The game follows Samus Aran, a female bounty hunter who dons a power suit that enables her to shoot energy projectiles. In her post-apocalyptic world, Aran faces off against the titular Metroids, a jelly-like predatory species that feed on life energy.

The latest game in the series, Metroid Dread, was released in 2021 and sold more three million units, proving just how popular the series still is. The alien worlds of the game and its brave protagonist would make for an exciting film adaptation.

Animal Crossing

Previously a cult favourite, Animal Crossing became a global hit during the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic with the release of New Horizons in 2020. The game sold more than 47 million units, making it one of the most popular games on the Nintendo Switch.

In it, players create a character then move to an island which houses several animals. The objective is to clean up the island, build houses and places of leisure for the animals and have fun beautifying the place.

An Animal Crossing animated film seems inevitable as the popularity of the series continues to grow.

Kirby

Not quite as popular as Super Mario with non-gamers, Kirby is still a beloved character with many fun games since his first appearance in 1992 on the Game Boy. The pink blob can fly around, punch and swallow his enemies whole to absorb their powers.

Kirby’s popularity really skyrocketed after his inclusion in the Super Smash Bros games in which he became a go-to character to choose for novices and experts alike. A Kirby film would probably be a fun animated production that could feature other Nintendo characters too.

Splatoon

One of Nintendo’s more recent successes, Splatoon came out in 2015. The third-person shooting game in which two teams battle it out to paint a level with their team’s colours. Some characters have powers such as transformation or more powerful tools of painting.

Splatoon is very much Nintendo’s cute answer to the rising popularity of shooting games such Call of Duty and others. There’s no killing or harming in Splatoon, just a fun experience of spraying paint. There have now been three games in the series as it continues to grow and cement its place in the Nintendo library.

The style lends itself to an animated film adaptation which would be energetic and funny.

Star Fox

A somewhat forgotten character is Star Fox, once one of Nintendo’s most famous during the N64 era. The character had seven mainline releases between 1993 and 2017.

Star Fox is primarily a rail shooting game that evolved into a flying game. In it, players control the titular Star Fox who is aided by his anthropomorphic animal friends.

Much like Kirby, Star Fox’s popularity grew as he remained part of the Super Smash Bros games. All the different animal characters in the games have well established traits that make it perfect for an animated film adaptation.