SmashBoards Creates: The Smash/Nintendo Cinematic Universe

[AlRex]

Hello there! Here’s a creation thread that is related to video games, but isn’t about making a fake game. Rather, we’re gonna make a bunch of fake movies. We’ll be creating a Nintendo/Smash Bros. Cinematic Universe, similar to Marvel, the Monsterverse, or uhh, hopefully, there’s a third successful example I’m not recalling. Universal Monsters, back in the 30’s/40’s, but not the one they did recently? I dunno.

Anyways, let’s just try and figure this out. We’re not really regarding previous or upcoming movies involving Nintendo properties or other series that are in Smash (I.E. the other Marios, Sonics, Pokémon, Street Fighter, etc.), just making our own new thing. We’ll also be sticking with mainly Nintendo series for the first “Phase”, which can include Second-Parties, but we can bring in Third Parties that are in Smash later.

Spoiler: Phase 1 Movies

1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
A loose adaptation of the game of the same name. A young boy named Link has to save the Princess Zelda and the Kingdom of Hyrule from the incursion of the dark wizard Agahnim, who is looking to unleash the beastly sorcerer named Ganon and the corrupted dimension of the Dark World into the main realm.

2. Metroid
Loosely based on events from the Metroid, Metroid II, and Super Metroid games, Samus Aran is an intergalactic bounty huntress sent to the planet Zebes to prevent a gang of space pirates, led by the cunning dragon Ridley and employed by the bizarre Mother Brain, from using and exploiting the planet's life-sucking species known as Metroid. After fighting a ton of aliens and exploring tons of landscapes, each creepier and more sprawling than the last, Samus eventually comes into care of a baby Metroid. This film is also the first one that hints most heavily at a wider universe, not necessarily in direct plot points, but in a lot of mentions and cameos of characters and elements from F-Zero, StarFox, and other space-oriented Nintendo series.

For the first job/submission period, it’s pretty simple...

Job #1: What should be our first movie?

My idea for what our first movie should be: Metroid.

My thinking for this: Metroid is in a similar position to what Iron Man was for Marvel, relative to Nintendo. People have probably heard of the series by name or seen Samus, but it’s not quite as familiar as Mario, Legend of Zelda, or Pokémon. But, like, Iron Man, it’s a premise that has both unique and familiar elements that’ll be fairly easy to sell and grasp for the public. Basically, Alien with multiple kinds of Aliens, the Mandolorian but with creepier aliens, space bounty huntress with Iron Man armor (go figure) who takes on a brain in a jar and/or an intelligent space dragon. There’s intrigue to it, and perhaps less of an expectation than the three other Nintendo series I mentioned. It also has potential to hint at the various other Nintendo space/sci-fi series and elements, which also range in premises and tones, like Kirby, StarFox, F-Zero, or even Giygas from Earthbound.

The other thing I’d like to hear...
Job #2: How should the films be done?
Various animation styles? Live-action + CGI/other effects? What say you?

 

[Torgo the Bear]

Job #1:
The Legend of Zelda
There's tons of stuff to draw from here, of course, but I feel like an Ocarina of Time movie would make the biggest splash to kick this franchise off...

Job #2:
2D Animation
For really no reason other than personal bias, I'm gonna suggest that we make these movies be a series of 2D animated films. They don't necessarily have to be anime-styled, but with some franchises we'll inevitably touch on, it wouldn't hurt. I'd personally aim for a point in between western cartoons and traditional anime, as that would be the best way to blend the various conflicting universes we'll be mashing together once the Smash movie arrives.

 

[Tankman from Newgrounds]

Job 1:
Star Fox
Star Fox movie would be no-brainer pick for Movie franchise. Star Fox had popular games ranging from SNES to Wii U. Some games are Popular like Star Fox 64, but some of them are Bad like Zero, but it doesn't stop it from Making Star Fox Film.

Job 2:
Live Action + CGI
I'm Fan of Live Action/CGI Movies and I could want to see Realistic Fox along with Team Star Fox. They could also add human character like they added in Sonic Movie.

 

[CheeseAnton]

Job #1: F-Zero

F-Zero is a series fans are begging to bring back so I think it'd be cool to have it start off the SSBCU/NCU. There's a lot that can be done in the F-Zero Universe that Nintendo is just wasting such as bounty hunts and races and aliens and planets, oh my!

Idea for story: Follow the bounty hunter Captain Falcon as he wins another race then gets captured by his enemies (he's the best bounty hunter) in a story about survival and then doing what's right or whatever [I haven't seen Iron Man (2008) in a long while]. What I'm trying to suggest is that Captain Falcon should be our Tony Stark, and I think it fits perfectly.

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

Job #1: Kid Icarus

I feel that the first movie needs to really set the scene for the aura of the NCU as a whole. Whilst Metroid would be a wonderful survival-horror movie, and something like F-Zero could have so much potential for a movie, the first movie needs to be approachable, but unique - obscure enough to act as a litmus paper on its own accord, but also acting as a means of kicking off a revolution. As such, my suggestion is: Kid Icarus!

But, well... why? After all, Kid Icarus is a quite obscure series to start with compared to something more obvious, like Mario, Zelda or Pokemon, or even more popular niche stuff like Mother. Even so, the capacity for Kid Icarus to be the origin of the series seems clever - a semi-retelling of the first game in the series, in which Skyworld is taken by Medusa, and Pit - the leader of Palutena's Army - is the only remaining fighter. However, it could work well to include characters and storybeats from later games - namely, introducing Dark Pit as a sort of rival to Pit through the movie sounds like it could be fun to work with.

I also think that compared to other characters, Kid Icarus has some of the most potential here. Already fighting with an unusual weapon, being his Bow of Light, Pit's nature as an angel as he climbs out of the Underworld to return to the sky with the Three Sacred Treasures would make him quite interesting and unusual. Not only this, but it could work well to include other characters to make things more interesting - for instance, Pit having to bargain with Viridi in order to acquire the Wings of Pegasus, could be quite a funny setpiece.

Whilst it works well as a self-contained story, I think Kid Icarus is also useful when it comes to kicking into action this new canon's more fantastical IPs, such as Zelda and Fire Emblem. Given that Pit's redesign in Brawl (and subsequent use in Uprising) was mostly inspired by the Zelda series's overall design, and the teasing of a Zelda movie would work well as a post-credit scene, similar to how they were used in early MCU movies.

Job #2: 3D, Anime-esque, artstyle

The most important aspect here is cohesion, and that instantly rules out live action. Having a photorealistic gorilla wearing a tie, a yellow rat, and a pudgy, overweight plumber from Brooklyn in an Avengers-style shot seems.. unreasonable to me. As such, my own suggestion is that a 3D animation style, though taking cues from anime, would work best. It would allow a bombastic feel, but at the same time keeps all characters at least somewhat grounded - after all, Smash itself is in 3D, and works quite well for it!

 

[cashregister9]

Job 1

Pokemon

Starting Off with Pokemon would be a massive splash due to just how massive Pokemon is

Job 2

Live-action CGI Hybrid

Much like Detective Pikachu

 

[AlRex]

If anybody has any more options to bring up, go ahead now. If not, I’ll do our first bits of voting soon.

 

[AlRex]

Alright, let's have a vote here.
First Movie:
AlRex Metroid
Torgo the Bear Legend of Zelda
Tankman from Newgrounds StarFox
CheeseAnton F-Zero
KneeOfJustice99 Kid Icarus
cashregister9 Pokemon

Format:
Torgo the Bear 2D Animation
Tankman from Newgrounds and cashregister9 Live-Action/CGI hybrid
KneeOfJustice99 3D, anime-esque [similar to Smash itself]

My personal votes:
1. Legend of Zelda
2. F-Zero
3. Metroid

And I think 2D animation intrigues me the most, but the most fitting would be the 3D, anime-esque one, so my vote goes to that for now. For this vote, you can choose your own again, but for the "First Movie" vote, you can only put yours in 2nd or 3rd, as per usual with these threads.

 

[Glubbfubb]

Pokemon
Metroid
Zelda

2D

 

[Tankman from Newgrounds]

1. Legend of Zelda
2. Star Fox (Let Star Fox spread its popularity)
3. F-Zero

1. 2D Animation

 

[AlRex]

Tankman from Newgrounds We're only picking one for the animation/presentation style votes. Yes, it can just be the one you proposed again.

 

[Deleted member]

1. Zelda
2. Metroid
3. Kid Icarus

3D

 

[Dan Quixote]

Kid Icarus is such a genius idea for me because it was already established in SSBB that Pit watches the fights for some reason so that's a cool way to connect his universe to all the others here. Blind by nostalgia for the Subspace Emissary once again.

1. Kid Icarus
2. Metroid
3. The Legend of Zelda

I don't really have a stake in the animation style thing here but I suppose I will vote for the 3D animation because it's the consistent art style that Smash has had for a decade now so why change it?

 

[CheeseAnton]

1. Kid Icarus
2. Metroid
3. Star Fox

Honorable Mention to Zelda, I think it'd be a great film franchise but I think it's too open of a series (if that makes sense) to do right now, I personally like the idea of waiting until we have a more solid idea of what the NCU is until we decide on how we're tackling one of Nintendo's most popular IPs yet and what iteration(s?) of Legend of Zelda we should go for.


Animation: 3D

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

1. Metroid.

Of the bunch, I think Metroid is probably one of the best picks here. My thought as to the first movie in a cinematic universe is that it has to stand on its own merits, as well as being able to set up a universe of its own - and Metroid is a genius way to do so. Whilst the genre of it, being likely a survival sci-fi horror in a similar vein to movies like the original Alien, would be wonderful to see, I feel like it's the only issue here - using Metroid to set up the light-hearted tone of later series like Mario, Pokemon, and Kirby amongst others could wind up as a problem, but to be honest, the sheer level of potential in a Metroid film alone would be worth watching. I'd honestly say, NCU aside, Metroid is one franchise I'd adore to see a movie adaptation of.

2. Kid Icarus.
Self-vote, but I think Kid Icarus solves the problem seen in Metroid as a concept - that is, that of it being too "dark" in a sense. Kid Icarus has that clever mix of self-referencial humour, high stakes, and interesting characters and concepts, that could easily be put to exceptional use in a full movie. Not only this, but it could act as a wonderful way to spring off into the NCU as a whole. After all, it's already established that Kid Icarus is based on the design of Zelda, which could work incredibly well as a shared universe sort of thing...

3. StarFox.
Whilst I think that StarFox would work best as a series (which I also think applies to F-Zero, but I'll get into that,) StarFox is a really cool concept for an adaptation to begin with. I think it would be clever to move away from the Thunderbirds-esque design, and more into the visual design of the one-shot we saw to promote StarFox Zero - and actually, it could have a ton of potential as well. The light-hearted tone of StarFox would work wonderfully to kick off the NCU, but setting up big stakes to begin with with the Star Wolf team, as well as Andross himself of course, would be a good idea here.

Shoutout goes to F-Zero. I think that it would be brilliant to see, but as a series following Captain Falcon in both of his jobs as a bounty hunter and racer - and overall fleshing out the world of F-Zero a ton. I've always wanted to see something like this, but... not to kick off the NCU.

Also, on the visual design? I'm... sticking with the 3D, Smash-like style. 3D movies seem to be in a pretty good spot, and it's a good, proven way to link all of the visual designs of each series together. As much as I'd love to see an anime-esque style, I feel it may run the risk of being a bit... much. (Even so, a Trigger-style anime design would be epic.)

 

[Tankman from Newgrounds]

1. Metroid.

Of the bunch, I think Metroid is probably one of the best picks here. My thought as to the first movie in a cinematic universe is that it has to stand on its own merits, as well as being able to set up a universe of its own - and Metroid is a genius way to do so. Whilst the genre of it, being likely a survival sci-fi horror in a similar vein to movies like the original Alien, would be wonderful to see, I feel like it's the only issue here - using Metroid to set up the light-hearted tone of later series like Mario, Pokemon, and Kirby amongst others could wind up as a problem, but to be honest, the sheer level of potential in a Metroid film alone would be worth watching. I'd honestly say, NCU aside, Metroid is one franchise I'd adore to see a movie adaptation of.

2. Kid Icarus.

What about third one?

 

[KneeOfJustice99]

What about third one?

Sorry about that! I accidentally hit the tab key when I was trying to hit the caps-lock key, so it automatically sent. I've edited it now though!

 

[Yiptap]

1. Zelda
2. Metroid
3. Kid Icarus

Animation voting is hard, but anime-esque seems really interesting, so I'll vote for that.

 

[AlRex]

Animation voting is hard, but anime-esque seems really interesting, so I'll vote for that.

Anime-esque 2D or 3D?

 

[Yiptap]

Anime-esque 2D or 3D?

Apologies, I forgot to clarify! I'll go for 2D.

 

[Baysha]

1. Zelda
2. Metroid
3. Kid Icarus

And 2D. I was gonna submit that each movie should have it's own unique style but I missed the boat. :P

 

[Torgo the Bear]

1. F-Zero
2. Kid Icarus
3. Zelda

and 2D Animation

 

[Glubbfubb]

Interesting votes to be honest

 

[Deleted member]

Interesting votes to be honest

I feel like starting out with a propriety like Metorid or Kid Icarus is a smart idea. The MCU started with Iron Man, which wasn't exactly a hot propriety pre MCU. Gives us something new to audiences and that we can build off. I'd be fine with any of these though tbf

 

[AlRex]

Narrow votes here...
Pokémon: 3
Metroid: 13
Zelda: 15
Star Fox: 3
F-Zero: 4
Kid Icarus: 10

2D: 5
3D: 4

But we'll be having Legend of Zelda as our first film, and generally, the films will be 2D animated. I think both of these are respectable choices. Zelda hasn't really had a big adaptation since the DiC cartoon, but is still huge as a video game series, only regularly topped by Mario and Pokémon. It has a great balance of serious elements and light-hearted elements that was already mentioned as key to being able to pull off all of these being together. That all said, there are still specific elements to decide about the film.

Job #3: What's the plot of movie?
You don't have to give a full script. Maybe a paragraph or so summary is fine, or even just taking from a game and explaining what may or may not be changed.

Job #4: What's the cast?
Who do you think would play Link, if he talks at all? How about Zelda, or Ganon(dorf)? Anybody else? This is more for fun than anything, and you can speak pretty broadly here.

My thinking is that the Zelda movies should be at three stages. The first one uses the first NES Zelda as a loose basis, with a young Link going on a quest in a vast world to save Zelda, retrieve the Triforce, and defeat Ganon. The next one would loosely use Link to the Past and the Light/Dark World, with a slightly older Link, the third would use Ocarina of Time with an older Link and Ganondorf. After that, it's pretty open for what happens next. However, this perhaps is going too far into the future, but I would like the first Zelda movie to be fairly straight forward and introductory. Discussion is to be had, though, of course.

 

[Baysha]

Zelda hasn't really had a big adaptation since the DiC cartoon

At first I thought you were referring to The Light of Courage before I remembered that DiC actually made a cartoon.

Anyway, for the plot, I'm thinking we do something where Ganon messes with the Zelda timeline and all the eras get mixed up and the heroes have to fix it. They would have to travel through the various eras (games) in order to do this. Link wouldn't speak but he would be accompanied by various companions from the games like Navi, Midna, and the King of Red Lions. I feel like this would be a good way to introduce newcomers to the Zelda universe by showcasing the various games in one fell swoop.

 

[Deleted member]

Personally for the plot I feel like Ocarina of Time would be a good first film. Iconic and there's a good structure there. I think for Sequalswe could loosely adapt other games, like how the MCU does their own versions of classic comic stories.

Cast wise il throw out some names. Are we giving the characters proper voices? We might have to. I know Link not talking is part of the character but that becomes harder once we get to crososver films. Honestly I'd be fine with just going with voice actors but if people feel we should go with big names then.

Link - Tom Holland might be a little over played. Timothée Chalamet could work. Do we wanna have separate voices for young and older Link?

Zelda - I think Anya Taylor Joy would have been good here but she's gonna be Peach so. There's a couple of picks I could see here.

Ganondorf - If we go with OOT Ganon I actually think Idris Elba would rock. He's got that intensety. But he's Knuckles so. Also depends on which Ganon we go with.

 

[AlRex]

Voice-acting-wise, I think Link could talk a bit, but would need a companion on his journey, so we could have a fairy w/him, but don't make them as bothersome as Navi generally is perceived. Plus there are probably many characters they'll encounter on the journey, both friend and foe, that'll give them more to bounce off of. Maybe we can even have the fairy mostly talk while Link prefers to be of few words, or even uses sign language to communicate sometimes.

I don't have a specific name in mind for Link or Zelda, but I think Keith David could be a good Ganondorf voice, and I can see Jim Cummings as the pig Ganon's voice. Keith David was the voice of Goliath from Gargoyles, Spawn in the HBO series, Dr. Facilier in The Princess & the Frog, and he appears in live-action in The Thing and They Live, just to name a few roles. Meanwhile, while Jim Cummings is probably most known for Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Pete [the giant cat(?) that goes against Mickey and is Goofy's neighbor], and Darkwing Duck, he's also sometimes been another voice for Scar in The Lion King, and the regular voices of Dr. Robotnik in Sonic SatAM, the Shocker and the Chameleon in the 90's Spider-Man cartoon, and Lord Boxman in OK KO.

 

[Glubbfubb]

I think we should do an original story that is reminiscent of classic Zelda stories but distinct, Marvel done that successfully and Zelda has loads of story opportunities

I think the story should take place similairly to Zelda Ocarina where Navi, or someone similair to Navi wakes up young link and he goes on a quest, meanwhile Zelda spies on Ganondorf complete with phantom menace styled politics scenes, in this universe Hylains, Gerudos, Zoras, and Gorons are the 4 main species of this universe with some fringe species like the Dekus and Moblins, Ganon wants to create a legacy of his great grandfather Ganon of using the triforce to create a prosperous land for the ailing Gerudo People, Zelda however is manipulated by something resembling said triforce, convincing Zelda that Ganon is the weirlder of the corrupt Triforce of Power and wants to conquer the land, and Zelda goes on her own quest to stop Ganondorf.

Yadda Yadda Yadda it was revealed that fairy and triforce voice are the past versions fo Zelda and Link who want to take out Ganondorf due to his ancestor trying to conquer Hyrule and belives that darkness will never leave a bloodline, however with Zelda, Link, and Ganondorf they take down the two spirits who fuse with their own Triforce of courage and wisdom, they will return soon bring forth their own Triforce of power and that's the main plot of this first movie

 

[Dan Quixote]

lol yeah I saw the Zelda win coming from a mile away, but it's not as if it's not deserving.

Job #3: A Link to the Past

If we want to eventually bring everyone together into the Super Smash Bros. realm in an Avengers style crossover, then I think it has to be the same Link, Zelda, and Ganon throughout the franchise just to reduce unnecessary confusion and contrived plot points. At first I thought we should just remake Breath of the Wild as a movie here because it's super popular, it already has voice actors, it's recent, it's what SSBU already uses. But! I'm also thinking of sequel potential here. A Link to the Past is a very popular and critically acclaimed game in the franchise, and more importantly its Link is one that proceeds to go on many different documented adventures. It's the same Link in Link's Awakening and the Oracle games, and it's almost the same Link in A Link Between Worlds, so that can kinda be smushed into it, too. I think the first film should be a recreation of A Link to the Past, and then it'll have a few openings for sequel films which we know these cinematic universes need to introduce more characters.

Of course, eventually, if this NCU succeeds, it'll start to invent its own storylines and whatnot, but for the very first hero in the saga, it's best to pull from already known quantities like A Link to the Past.

Job #4: Voice Actors

I don't have anyone specific in mind for Job #4. I know a lot of voice actors that I'm fans of, but I've never been good at fantasy football style casing choices that really fit the characters the best. All I'm voting for here is that we should pull from voice actors who are already entrenched in the video game space instead of ONLY considering big Hollywood names. Obviously, some Hollywood actors have made appearances in games and knocked it out of the park, so we shouldn't just bar them completely, but the focus should be on the video game voice actors who are already in the video game industry.

 

[AlRex]

The main consensus, if any, just seems to be to cast more based on what works rather than thinking of big names, although some of the previous names mentioned do still work, IMO. I'm unsure I'll do any other casting jobs for the other movies, unless people would be interested in them.

I suppose I'll do the vote for what the plot should be, so here you go:
AlRex Loose adaptation of Zelda 1
Baysha Multiple eras
@Darkonedagger Ocarina of Time
Glubbfubb Looser adaptation of Ocarina of Time
Dan Quixote Link to the Past

I don't know what to vote for yet, but I think regardless, Dan Quixote's idea of Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf being the same through most of the movies, for simplicity's sake, sounds pretty good. My idea initially was a younger Link in the first one, the second one a slightly older kid, and the third one would have him as a teenager/young adult, though that can vary.

 

[Tankman from Newgrounds]

1. Multiple Eras
2. Looser Adaptation of OoT
3. Link to the Past

 

[Deleted member]

1. Link to the Past
2. OOT
3. Zelda 1

 

[Akai kage]

1 Ocarina of time
2 looser Ocarina
3 Link to the past
I think the best idea would be to start from Ocarina, Skyward sword as a prequel and then another movie, could be various eras, link to the past, original plot or whatever, I'd personally do Wind waker tho

 

[Glubbfubb]

Loose Zelda 1
Loose Oot
Multiple Eras

 

[Dan Quixote]

1. Loose Adaptation of Zelda 1
2. A Link to the Past
3. Multiple Eras

 

[Baysha]

1. Link to the Past
2. Ocarina of Time
3. Multiple Eras

 

[HyperSomari64]

Multiple Eras
Loose Zelda 1
Link to the Past

 

[AlRex]

I question whether the "Multiple Eras" thing would be good for introducing this series to general audiences. That feels like something you can only really do once the series is very familiar with general audiences on the level of something like Spider-Man or Batman.

I think for now, my votes will be:
1. Link to the Past
2. Looser adaptation of Zelda 1
3. Looser adaptation of Ocarina of Time

My only reluctance with Ocarina of Time, as famous as it is, is that it seems like a story that works better with the audience having grown up along with Link, to an extent.

 

[Deleted member]

I kind of regret not submitting Wind Waker tbh,