After The Super Mario Bros. Movie's success, other Nintendo characters could join Mario in a blooming Nintendo Cinematic Universe. With Mario yet to have a well-received big-screen adaptation before 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the vast potential of a Nintendo film used to lie dormant for decades. But now, Mario and his friends have proved their worth on the big screen with a highly successful movie of his own, and other Nintendo characters can now follow suit.
Nintendo's large gallery of beloved characters signifies an untapped gold mine for the film medium. From the most cartoonish to the most serious, Nintendo's characters belong to very different worlds but also share the screen from time to time in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. crossover titles. If The Super Mario Bros.' success eventually leads to such a big-screen crossover in the form of a Mario-led Nintendo Cinematic Universe, Nintendo and Illumination's collaboration could gradually introduce various Nintendo characters who could get their own movies or shows before crossing paths on the big screen.
Being the second most famous Nintendo property after Mario, The Legend of Zelda is likely to get a movie after The Super Mario Bros. Movie's massive success. Mario has opened the gates for accurate, lucrative, and family-friendly blockbuster adaptations of famous video games, and Link seems like the perfect candidate to keep the momentum going. Like Mario, Link is an easily-recognizable Nintendo icon who can be developed further on the big screen without damaging his characterization. As long as Link is brave and compassionate, a Legend of Zelda movie can make many bold creative choices with the character.
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Samus Aran is a very influential part of video game history. In 1986, Metroid delivered one of the most surprising video game twists of all time when the main hero, Samus Aran, was revealed to be a woman all along. In an era where women were only beginning to take prominent action roles like Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley, this shocking reveal turned Metroid's Samus Aran into Nintendo royalty. Unfortunately, the Metroid series hasn't met considerable success in a long time, but the potential is still there. With a dark tone and heavy sci-fi influences, a Metroid movie adaptation could deliver an animated take on Alien within the Nintendo Cinematic Universe.
While Samus Aran expands the Nintendo Cinematic Universe with Metroid's dark sci-fi roots, Fox McCloud can do the same with Star Fox's space opera inspirations. With its anthropomorphic protagonists, action-filled stories, and similarities to Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Fox has all the makings of an animated blockbuster success. Fox McCloud himself also has the grit to lead a computer-generated Star Fox movie while standing out from Mario, Link, and Samus. With Falco and Peppy by his side, Fox can earn his spot as the Nintendo Cinematic Universe's quintessential no-nonsense action hero.
On the opposite side of the spectrum is Kirby, the adorable little pink ball who has the powerful ability to absorb his opponents' powers by inhaling them. Kirby's cute appearance and colorful world make him the perfect basis for a family-friendly Illumination movie, but Kirby also works as an action character. Like The Super Mario Bros. Movie, a Kirby movie could have a talking Kirby who uses his agility and fighting prowess to protect his home, Dream Land, from a scary enemy - this time King Dedede in the place of Bowser. In an eventual crossover, Kirby's power-absorbing abilities offer many fun possibilities with other Nintendo characters.
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Kid Icarus' Pit is another one of Nintendo's earliest icons, having debuted in 1986's Kid Icarus for the NES. Pit is notable for being an incredibly versatile warrior with sharpshooting abilities and a talent for both melee and aerial combat, which makes him even more dexterous than Link and Mario. Based on Greek mythology, Lady Palutena's chosen warrior could be an exciting protagonist to translate to the big screen. Although the Kid Icarus franchise had a 20-year hiatus, 2012's Kid Icarus: Uprising gave Pit a massive overhaul and a strong personality that places him among Nintendo's legends.
Another action-oriented Nintendo character who can get the movie treatment is Captain Falcon, the most popular character from the F-Zero video game series. Set hundreds of years in the future, F-Zero takes a deadlier approach to Nintendo's racing genre than Mario Kart. Racers pull off dangerous stunts at breakneck speed through the gravity-defying tracks while trying not to fall off the edge. As one of the fastest characters in the Super Smash Bros. video games, Captain Falcon could add a new layer to the Nintendo Cinematic Universe with a fast-paced, action-fueled starring role before crossing over with other Nintendo characters.
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Splatoon's Inklings and Octolings are a more recent addition to Nintendo's character roster. The colorful squid and octopus-inspired creatures are extremely agile fighters who can hide and swim in the ink puddles they shoot. Splatoon's color-based combat would provide a movie adaptation with plenty of creative visual possibilities, and it would allow young viewers to enjoy fun shootout scenes without the usual action-movie kind of graphic violence. Besides, Splatoon's designs and visual style already resemble Illumination's, so a big-screen Splatoon adaptation wouldn't need to make many major changes to its characters.
Animal Crossing is one of Nintendo's most laid-back video games due to its free-form simulation nature. An Animal Crossing movie adaptation could be a welcome addition to the Nintendo Cinematic Universe, as it would give viewers a break from the action genre. Villagers like Ankha, Cherry, and Isabelle seem like they come straight from a 3D-animated Hollywood movie, and the human villager's role as the fish out of water in a town filled with eccentric anthropomorphic characters sounds like the perfect recipe for a successful feel-good animated blockbuster.
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Pikmin may not be as well-known as Super Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda, but it is quite a unique Nintendo property. Instead of taking the adventurous Olimar to outer space or to the uncharted depths of the ocean, the Pikmin games test his strategic skills on small patches of land in far-away planets, as Olimar and his little friends are miniature-sized. Olimar's adventures are based on leadership, teamwork, strategy, and survival skills - all of which are ideal themes to feature in an animated family movie.
No discussion about Nintendo legends is complete without Little Mac from the Punch-Out! video game series. First released as an arcade game in 1984, Punch Out! pioneered the boxing video game sub-genre by following Little Mac's journey from an amateur fighter to a boxing champion. Similar to The Legend of Zelda's Link, Little Mac is a rather blank slate that a Nintendo Cinematic Universe could develop freely on the big screen.
A Punch-Out! movie adaptation would round up the Nintendo Cinematic Universe quite nicely. Just like Metroid could be Nintendo's Alien and Star Fox could be Nintendo's Star Wars, Punch-Out! could be Nintendo and Illumination's family-oriented version of Rocky: an underdog's inspiring climb to the top with his sheer power of will. Instead of Clubber Lang or Ivan Drago, however, Little Mac's ultimate test of strength could come from Bald Bull or The Super Mario Bros. Movie's Donkey Kong himself.