Nintendo wants to expand beyond gaming with even more than just Mario and Zelda

Nintendo has made some pretty impressive strides in the cinema scene recently, with both Super Mario movies being huge box office hits, regardless of what the critics think of them. We also have a movie based on The Legend of Zelda coming in the near future, but whether it's any good remains to be seen. All we've seen of it so far is two people sitting in a field.

Regardless, it clearly shows that Nintendo is willing to experiment with its biggest properties outside of the gaming space, something it had been quite hesitant to do. However, its plans are only getting more ambitious as its success mounts, and now Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto says more projects with “new characters” are on the way.

Nintendo wants to expand beyond gaming with 'new characters'

yoshi rides luigi's bike in the movie super mario galaxy.

“Going forward, we will expand these initiatives and would like to bring not only Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda, but also new characters, to the world,” said Miyamoto, in Nintendo's latest investor Q&A (thanks Nintendo Life). “We will expand these initiatives through a variety of methods, including films and videos.”

We've already seen this in action too. Fox McCloud made a surprise and very welcome appearance in the Super Mario Galaxy movie, which is as clear an indication as you can get that Nintendo is looking to bring more of its IP to the big screen. It seems to have clicked that having characters in popular movies can even drive sales of new games and consoles.

We'll have to wait and see what other characters are considered, but the possibilities feel pretty endless. A Fire Emblem or Xenoblade anime series? A slice of life Splatoon cartoon? A high-budget Metroid action movie? You can make anything from Nintendo's lineup, and that's pretty exciting for anyone who's a fan of the company's work.