A new report has given fans their first major update on Nintendo's Metroid movie. After years as one of the biggest names in video games, Nintendo has started to show interest in bringing some of its properties to the big screen. Thus far, fans have enjoyed the $1 billion-grossing Super Mario Bros. Movie (with a sequel on the way next year), and it has been revealed that a Legend of Zelda film project will be released in 2027. Beyond that, though, the future of Nintendo's efforts in adaptation remains unclear.
One new name has emerged on the Nintendo movie radar, though, as insider Daniel Richtman shared that he has heard a Metroid film is in development under the watch of the video gaming giant. Richtman shared the news on his personal X page, providing no further details about the project beyond the fact that it is reportedly in the works.
In its film projects, Nintendo has already proven it is not following any specific pattern from title to title. While the Super Mario Movie franchise has come as a part of a continued partnership between the Big N and Universal, Zelda will be the first Nintendo movie produced by Sony Pictures.
It was previously reported that Nintendo was exploring its massive catalog of video game IPs for potential film adaptations. In 2023, legendary video game creator Shigeru Miyamoto told the press that there was "no doubt" the Japanese publisher was considering multiple film projects.
The Metroid series of games dates back to the Nintendo Entertainment System, with the first game in the franchise hitting that platform in August 1986. The series follows the armored bounty hunter Samus Aran as she visits various derelict planets, investigating an alien threat known as the Metroids.
Why a Metroid Movie Feels Perfect For Nintendo
A Metroid movie feels like the perfect next move as Nintendo ventures into the theatrical realm even further.
So far, the renowned game maker has lived up to its "Disney of gaming" branding on the big screen with the Super Mario Movie franchise, but it is so much more than that for longtime fans of the brand. Nintendo contains multitudes.
Fans will get a taste of this diversity with the release of 2027's The Legend of Zelda movie, as it showcases the company's first live-action film project of the modern era, while also playing into a slightly older audience with its epic fantasy adventure.
Metroid could perfectly fill a void for the company, leaning even older than Zelda for a full-on space horror adventure. The Metroid games are not traditional horror titles by any means, but they do thrive on a feeling of isolation akin to something like the Alien franchise.
This could be a unique opportunity for Nintendo, introducing audiences to its first film project aimed at more mature audiences, following Samus Aran as she explores the terrifying depths of an unknown planet somewhere in the galaxy.
And if Nintendo could get the right star to lead the project, Metroid could prove to be something special for the video game titan. One name that has been mentioned several times over the years as a potential game in the hit sci-fi adventure series is Brie Larson.
Larson looks the part of Samus, she is a noted gamer, and she has even voiced her desire to play the character if the franchise ever came to the big screen (per IGN).
