Shigeru Miyamoto Confirms Plans for Film Adaptations of Other Nintendo Franchises Beyond Mario and The Legend of Zelda

Shigeru Miyamoto has confirmed that Nintendo intends to continue developing its franchises beyond the gaming industry. During a Q&A session with investors, the legendary game designer revealed that this multimedia strategy originated 15 years ago – during the heyday of the Wii – through his discussions with the late company president Satoru Iwata.

Initially, the creator of Mario was wary of this idea, fearing that the development of characters in other media could negatively affect the creation of new games. Market analysis changed everything: Miyamoto concluded that the audience for game consoles is inevitably limited, while smartphones, cinemas, YouTube, and other platforms allow billions of people worldwide to get acquainted with Nintendo characters. Ultimately, this should encourage a new audience to buy consoles and the games themselves.

Today, this strategy has become one of Nintendo's important business directions. The successes of the mobile application Pikmin Bloom, the short films Close to You from Nintendo Pictures, and the animated film “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” have only strengthened the company's confidence in its chosen course. According to Miyamoto, Nintendo now intends to use a variety of media formats to introduce the global audience not only to Mario and The Legend of Zelda, but also to its other franchises, as well as to completely new characters.

These words align well with insider reports from April about Nintendo's long-term plans. According to them, the company is considering adaptations of Donkey Kong, Star Fox, and Kirby, as well as spin-offs dedicated to Luigi and Yoshi. Nintendo has not yet officially confirmed these projects, and among the closest confirmed projects, we await the adaptation of The Legend of Zelda, which will be released on April 30, 2027.