The Super Mario Bros. animated movie has been confirmed for 2022. Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto is a producer on the highly anticipated project. In addition to the new Mario news, Nintendo has also revealed plans to extend their “visual content” over the next few years, which is giving fans hope for a project involving The Legend of Zelda. According to a new business report from Nintendo, the Super Mario animated movie’s production is moving along “smoothly,” and they’re looking to expand. You can read a portion of the report below.
“Another way we are delivering Nintendo entertainment to a wider audience is with the Super Mario CG-animated movie, which is scheduled for theatrical release in 2022. Production is moving ahead smoothly, thanks to the collaboration between Chris Meledandri, founder and CEO of Illumination, known for the Minions movies, and Nintendo’s Representative Director and Fellow, Shigeru Miyamoto, who is serving as co-producer. The movie will be distributed worldwide by Universal Pictures.”
Nintendo fans have been waiting for the Super Mario animated movie for quite some time now. It was first announced in 2017, but Nintendo has flirted with the idea of bringing the iconic video game plumber back to the big screen for years after a disastrous live-action movie in the early 1990s. With that being said, a possible project featuring The Legend of Zelda is also something that many have been wondering about too. While there is no confirmation of a series or big screen adventure, Nintendo is looking to branch further out. The business report continues below.
“We have also already embarked on multiple other visual content expansion projects, and are pursuing further opportunities. As we shared previously, the Super Mario movie is being financed by Nintendo as well as Universal Pictures, and we are actively involved in planning, development and production. Going forward, visual content expansion initiatives may not be limited to film. The scale of our investments will vary based on the type of project, but we will continue to invest in these entertainment expansion initiatives to increase the number of people who have access to our IP.”
It was reported back in 2015 that Netflix was looking to adapt The Legend of Zelda for a TV series similar to HBO’s Game of Thrones. However, there have not been any updated on the reported project in years. A movie adaptation of the Zelda video game series has also been rumored dozens of times, most recently with Brie Larson starring at Princess Zelda, though she seems more hyped to play Samus Aran in a Metroid movie. A Metroid movie is also something that has been talked about quite frequently, especially since Larson’s recent enthusiasm over a possible big screen adaptation.
With the success of Detective Pikachu and Sonic the Hedgehog, Nintendo could end up with a big hit on their hands with the Super Mario movie. The video game curse has seemingly been lifted by the aforementioned movies and a few outliers from over the years. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is currently in development, and a new Mortal Kombat movie is also on the way.
Nintendo has a ton of characters to take to the big or small screen, so it will be interesting to see what they decide to move forward with in the future. Back in the early 1990s, there were shows for The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. As for bringing the games to life in a new way, Nintendo is taking their time to ensure everything is done how they like it. With that being said, it’s going to be a while before we see any further visual content from the video game company.
