Nintendo And Illumination Confirm Super Mario Movie

Image via verified Super Mario Facebook page

Video game movie adaptations rarely, if ever, produce exceptional results. Case in point, the mediocre Assassin’s Creed and Warcraft movies. Nonetheless, game industry giant Nintendo is taking its own stab at the big screen. The publisher has confirmed an upcoming Super Mario movie, following the success of Super Mario Odyssey.

Super Mario Movie Pre-production and Release Date

Rumors of a Mario movie have been circulating since late 2017, though talks between Nintendo and Hollywood companies have been going on since 2016. It is now confirmed that Nintendo is working with Illumination Entertainment to deliver a full-fledged animated film. Illumination is the same studio behind Despicable Me and Minions, as well as 2016’s Sing.

There is no official release date as of yet. However, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima has stated that a Super Mario movie will potentially be out by 2020. This was in an interview with the Japanese news publication Kyoto Shimbun, where he mentioned that in order to meet such a deadline, Nintendo would need to secure a partnership with an animation studio. Nintendo has since finished talks with Illumination Studios, confirming Shigeru Miyamoto and Chris Meledandri as co-producers of the film.

Super Mario Movie: A Second Chance

The upcoming Super Mario movie will be the first attempt at bringing the princess-saving plumber to life since 1993. It will also be Nintendo’s first attempt at a feature film since then. The original Super Mario Bros received generally negative reviews from critics and fans, and has since become synonymous with the “video game-movie curse.” This, coupled with criticism towards Illumination, has sparked debate among fans.

Pixar, Dreamworks, Blue Sky, freakin anyone else

— Josh (@Icystorm9) February 1, 2018

They have a good track record but haven't made anything noteworthy. Nobody expected Pixar obviously but at least people like Dreamworks have made some memorable hits. Nothing Illumination's done has even been worthy of Best Animation Oscar

— fourth (@fourthtweet) February 1, 2018

On the other hand, fans seem enthusiastic regarding Shigeru Miyamoto’s involvement as a co-producer. Despite having created Mario, Miyamoto was only loosely involved with the 1993 Super Mario Bros film, and fans seem hopeful that with him at the helm, this film may see the character done justice.