Metroid Game That May Never Have Existed Could Be Canceled

Sometimes it's fun to watch a rumor spread it's way around the Internet.  Consider the case of Metroid Dread, a 2D traditional Metroid adventure for the Nintendo DS.  Supposedly the game was announced just before E3 earlier in the year and I've seen people talking about it here and there ever since.  The problem is that I never actually saw Dread on any actual official Nintendo list, nor was there any mention of it anywhere in Nintendo's E3 materials or media guides or product lists.  Nada.  Zip.  Zero.  In fact, while it seems that "everyone" was "sure" this game was coming, nobody actually had any proof that it even existed.  Well, now this game that may or may not have existed at some point may or may not have been canceled by Nintendo assuming that it ever existed in the first place.

Here's the thing: I'm not entirely convinced that the game ever existed at all.  Sure, I like to believe that Nintendo is or was considering a new 2D Metroid adventure and it's probably more likely than not, but where on Earth did people get the Dread title?  Where did people get the information about this game that supposedly exists but nobody in the general public (or even the gaming media) has seen?  And if a game that everyone knows is coming turns out to have never existed, does it make a sound?