I guess if Nintendo’s making money putting out bad Super Mario movies, there’s no reason for it to find a new collaborator for its animated features, but man, it would be nice if someone other than Illumination was getting a shot at making films based on the company’s games. It turns out we won’t have to wait too long for the next Nintendo/Illumination movie, as the animation studio has confirmed its next Nintendo movie is coming in 2028.
Universal Pictures Spain has put out its upcoming release calendar, and and if you scroll down to April 12, 2028, you’ll see, in big red text, “UNTITLED ILLUMINATION/NINTENDO EVENT FILM (APRIL 2028).” There’s no other information here, but given that The Super Mario Galaxy Movie just came out a few weeks ago, it seems a bit soon for Chris Pratt to be getting another big check for barely trying. However, there have been rumors swirling of a Donkey Kong movie for over a year, likely starring Seth Rogen, who somehow tried even less than Pratt to bring anything to his performance in the first Mario movie.
It’s clear that Nintendo wants to create some kind of cinematic universe, though it doesn’t sound like it’s quite ready to commit to a Super Smash Bros. movie that brings a ton of characters together in one film. Given that, starting off by giving a side character in the Mario movies his own spin-off seems a reasonable next step. Some might think, considering Fox McCloud’s appearance in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, that this could be a Star Fox film, but his presence in that movie felt like Nintendo testing the waters for something further down the line, and I’d be surprised if they were confident enough in bringing the pilot to the big screen that they’d already greenlit and were hard at work on a movie starring him that’s targeting a 2028 release.
These movies continue to make money, but hopefully Nintendo legend and movie producer Shigeru Miyamoto has taken some of the valid criticisms of the Mario movies to heart and the actual writing can catch up to Illumination’s stunning animation.