Super Smash Bros. Long-Awaited Return Leaves Gamers Torn

Fans aren’t sure what to think about the possibility of a Super Smash Bros. movie, and neither is Nintendo head Shigeru Miyamoto. As Nintendo gears up for the release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie this week, and the live-action Zelda movie next year, fans have begun to question the possibility of a full-blown cinematic universe.

But Miyamoto dashed those hopes along with Nintendo and Illumination animation execs in a Polygon interview, in which they downplay fan theories of a bigger crossover. That seems to count out the possibility of a Super Smash Bros. movie entirely; it’s Nintendo’s flagship crossover franchise, whose first release in 1999 brought together major characters from Nintendo’s biggest franchises at the time: Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda, Metroid, Kirby, Starfox, Pokémon, F-Zero, and Earthbound.

Is Nintendo Planning A Super Smash Bros. Movie?

Fans are split on the possibility

In a Reddit thread by user stationstars discussing the possibility, fans disagree on the viability of a Smash movie. The original topic first posits the question, “What would the plot [even be] about? The movie would feel soulless.”

Some commenters, however, disagree on that point. User Slade4Lucas points out that some Smash games have had plots before. That’s true enough: most notably, there was the Subspace Emissary, the epic, eight-hour campaign mode of Smash Bros. Brawl. But it’d be immensely difficult to compress all that into a two-hour movie; the pacing would be frenetic, with new characters and scenarios introduced every minute.

Beyond the obvious difficulty of making a plot out of a mostly plotless series, commenter Sonic10122 points out another problem with a Smash Bros. movie. If Illumination is already making a movie with Mario in it, for example, they only need permission from Nintendo if they want to include characters from another first-party franchise, like Pikmin or Starfox.

But to make a movie that accurately reflects the state of modern Smash, with guest characters from countless third-party games, they’d need to get in touch with Square Enix, Capcom, Sega, Microsoft, Atlus, and SNK, to name a few, and many of these companies likely have their own exclusivity deals with film studios. As Sonic10122 puts it, “That’s a LOT of lines to cross and businesspeople to sit down and agree on stuff.”

Shigeru Miyamoto Doesn’t Think A Smash Movie Will Happen

And he’s probably right

In the Polygon interview, Miyamoto seems to count out the possibility of a Super Smash Bros. movie entirely, saying, “I don’t think you’ll have a situation [where] all Nintendo characters would be joining [together in one film].” Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri concurs: “Our process… is much more geared toward conversations about what would be fun within a certain scene in the movie.”

Between this rather direct comment and the obvious challenges of making a Smash Bros. movie, it doesn’t seem like the possibility’s on the table, despite fan clamoring. Reddit user Puzzleheaded_Fox5820 chalks it up to “wishful thinking. People want it to happen and they’re grasping at anything that gives them hope.”

Ultimately, it seems like people are just hopeful for more Smash in any form. New character releases for Ultimate have ceased, and there are no rumblings of a new game on the horizon any time soon. A cinematic release would be something to cling to, drumming up demand for the franchise and putting economic pressure on Nintendo to release a new game.

But there are just too many hurdles that I don’t think Nintendo and Illumination want to surmount, and, considering the budgetary and legal constraints involved, I really can’t blame them. While I’m sure another Smash game will come around sooner or later, I wouldn’t get my hopes up for a Super Smash Bros. movie.