Factor 5 is [fairly] officially developing Kid Icarus for the Wii.

For several months rumors have been spread of the making of a new Kid Icarus game. Some screens from unofficial sources added fire to the already oily hype and wild speculations went flying around. Will it be casual? Will it be hardcore? Is Retro Studios developing it? These were only drops of water in the sea of questions asked.

It was more than twenty years ago that we were first introduced to Kid Icarus. The original was released in 1986 for the NES. The 2D sidescroller was very unique in many aspects, but its design retained recognizable influences from three of Nintendo's biggest franchises: Mario, Metroid and Zelda.

Factor 5 is known for several titles, of which the Star Wars Rogue Leader series, Star Wars Rebel Strike and Lair. They’re also recognized for the stunning graphics in their games.

Factor 5 used to develop many games for Nintendo until the two recently broke up, in which period they made Lair. Then, a couple of months ago, Factor 5 announced that they are once again working on a title for Nintendo, a Wii title. It wasn’t long until rumor spread of Factor 5’s Wii project actually being the new Kid Icarus game. ‘Credible inside sources’ revealed a new Kid-Icarus game, built from the ground up for the Wii with a completely new engine. Not much later, Factor 5 said that the game they are developing will be casual, which frightened some of the fans.

In the latest IGN Nintendo Voicechat we got the closest thing to confirmation of the game as of yet. When asked if Matt Casamassina was concerned about Kid Icarus since Factor 5 said their next game would be casual, he replied with, “That does concern me a little bit…I think we’ve said that, haven’t we [Factor 5 developing Kid Icarus]? If we haven’t said it, we’re saying it now…I mean come on, it’s no big secret to anybody.” In an earlier voicechat he also stated, "Kid Icarus is coming for crying out loud." and "I think we've confirmed it [Kid Icarus being developed] a billion times but no, I'm not going to say it officially."

So now we have an unofficial confirmation of the game being developed and by whom it’s being developed. It can’t be long until an official press release comes out.

Sources:
Nintendo Everything - Our second language is Nintendo++ Blog Archive Factor 5 officially developing Kid Icarus for Wii?
Rumor: Factor 5 working on a Kid Icarus game for Wii - Joystiq
Rumor: Factor 5 Developing New Kid Icarus Game for Wii ::: Kombo.com - Video Games, News, Zelda, Halo 3, Grand Theft Auto, Mario, Super Smash Bros. Brawl
The Wiire - More Kid Icarus Wii Rumormongering