If you’ve ever wanted to visit Hyrule in theme park form, take heart: rumors and speculation are floating around that you might soon be getting the chance to do just that. Eiji Aonuma, the producer of The Legend of Zelda series, has been spotted in a video from Universal Studios on-site at one of the parks. It could mean nothing, but it could also mean something big for the family of theme parks.
The video was originally posted on an Instagram account for Universal Studios’ employee spotlight and has since been removed, but not before fans screengrabbed a shot of Aonuma talking with construction workers and Super Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto at one of the parks. For those who don’t pay attention to theme parks, a Super Nintendo World attraction opened in Universal Studios’ Osaka and Hollywood parks in 2021 and 2023, respectively. Despite the name encompassing all of Nintendo, the current attraction is primarily themed around Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom, with plans to add Donkey Kong to the mix in the spring of this year. But if Aonuma is visiting and talking to construction workers, a Zelda attraction could also be in the works. Miyamoto was heavily involved in the creation of the Mario park, so it would make sense if Aonuma were consulting on a possible Zelda addition.
That’s the theory, anyway. Nintendo has yet to officially announce anything Hyrule-themed for Super Nintendo World. As Nintendo Life points out, Aonuma may just be there as part of his role as a senior officer in Nintendo’s Entertainment Planning & Development, and this doesn’t necessarily mean anything. But we can dream of an extremely dangerous roller coaster based on Twilight Princess’s Spinner, can we not?
What era of Zelda do we think a Universal attraction would be based on? While Super Mario have largely maintained the same classic aesthetic over the years, The Legend of Zelda’s games routinely introduce new, distinct visual styles and iconography. So, what would make the most sense to y’all? Let us know below.
