Shigeru Miyamoto Shuts Down Smash Bros. Movie

Shigeru Miyamoto has bad news for Super Smash Bros. fans, as he has shot down the idea of the Nintendo Cinematic Universe and the possibility of a crossover movie.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie by Nintendo and Illumination was very much its own thing. While it featured numerous references to classic Nintendo franchises, the characters and locations remained firmly within the Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong universes.

The recent reveal that Pikmin and Fox McCloud are appearing in The Mario Galaxy Movie has fans in a frenzy over the prospect of more standalone Nintendo movies, including a Super Smash Bros. film. Unfortunately, this won't be happening anytime soon, as Shigeru Miyamoto has confirmed to Polygon that a crossover film isn't on the cards.

Miyamoto Shoots Down Smash Bros. Film

When asked about the prospect of a Super Smash Bros. movie, Miyamoto shut it down, saying"Right off the bat, I’ll say that unlike something like Super Smash Bros., I don't think you'll have a situation [where] all Nintendo characters would be joining."

This was confirmed by Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri, who said, "When you use the term universe, it conjures up for me this idea that there's a group of really smart people in a room with charts up on a wall and they're planning the next 10 years of how all the characters might be weaving in and out of movies. Our process is actually very different from that. It's much more geared toward conversations about what would be fun within a certain scene in the movie."

It seems that the appearances of Pikmin and Fox are just intended to be cameos, with the potential for spin-off films further down the line. However, it's not some grand plan, like with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where the intention is for individual projects to lead into one massive crossover movie.

Naturally, fans will be disappointed to learn that a Nintendo movie universe isn't on the cards, especially as it seems like such a slam-dunk idea. The success of the first Mario Bros. film ensured that the next few projects would be safe bets, allowing Nintendo to prepare for a larger universe.

Hopefully, a Super Smash Bros. movie happens at some point. If it does come out, it will be the result of many individual projects being hits, rather than an intentional move to bring these characters together.