Nintendo is in talks to bring Mario back to Hollywood, according to a report today by The Wall Street Journal.
The paper reports that Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures are close to reaching a deal with Nintendo for an animated Super Mario Bros. movie. Illumination is the company behind Despicable Me – which foisted Minions on the world – while Universal Pictures remains one of the largest film studios in the world.
The last and only feature-length movie to star Mario was the 1993 Super Mario Brothers starring Bob Hoskins. Last year, Nintendo CEO Tatsumi Kimishima reportedly told the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun that the company was in talks with others to potentially create movies based on its characters.
It’s worth noting that The Wall Street Journal‘s reports on Nintendo-based media have not always come to fruition. In February 2015, WSJ reporter Ben Fritz (who co-wrote today’s story) reported that Netflix was in early production on a series based on Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda. That series never happened.
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2 responses to “Report: Nintendo Making Animated Mario Movie With Studio Behind Minions”
I recall a whole bunch of buzz around a Metroid/Samus movie years ago as well.
I had hoped that after Wreck It Ralph we would see a Nintendo/Disney partnership.
I actually want to see a Super Mario Bros animated movie created with studio developer Illumination Entertainment. I mean after Bowser made his appearance in Disney’s Wreck-It-Ralph along with Sonic the Hedgehog’s Doctor Eggman the fighting characters from CAPCOM’S Street Fighter and Clyde the orange Pac-Man ghost from BANDAI NAMCO’S Pac-Man. I definitely want to see Bowser, Bowser Jr Bowser’s minions Princess Peach, Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and the Toads from the Mushroom Kingdom in the Super Mario Bros animated movie. Because although Disney is planning to make the Wreck-It-Ralph sequel. I definitely want to see those Mario characters in a Super Mario Bros animated movie so I agree with Nintendo. I think we should see a Super Mario Bros animated movie created for Mario fans like me.