LEGO has announced that sets based on the Donkey Kong series are on the way. Nintendo and LEGO have collaborated on a number of franchises over the last few years, with sets released based on Zelda, Animal Crossing, and Super Mario. Donkey Kong themed sets have been released under LEGO’s Super Mario series, but it seems the company might be planning something bigger.
Donkey Kong debuted in an eponymous 1981 arcade game, where the big ape served as the central antagonist. The game first put players in the role of Mario (then called “Jumpman”), as he was forced to rescue Pauline from DK’s clutches. In the decades since that original game, Donkey Kong has become more of a hero, and the character has established a supporting cast consisting of friends like Diddy, Dixie, and Cranky, and enemies like the Tiki Tak Tribe, and King K. Rool and his Kremlings.
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LEGO’s Donkey Kong Plans
In a short video on Instagram, LEGO has teased future plans for Donkey Kong. The video is very short, and simply shows a barrel rolling by. The barrel features markings that resemble those from the original Donkey Kong game, and could imply that the company will be making a set based on the arcade classic. LEGO released a set based on the Game Boy last year, so it’s possible this could be a similar replica of the original arcade cabinet. That’s just speculation, but the smaller size of the barrel would seem to fit with a set that has smaller takes on DK, Mario, and Pauline.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
Hopefully, LEGO won’t keep fans waiting long to see what it has in store. While a set based on the original arcade cabinet makes sense based on what the company has released so far, there are lots of other great things LEGO could do with the license. Donkey Kong Bananza‘s destructible environments could lend themselves well to LEGO sets, or the company could offer brick-based takes on King K. Rool’s pirate ship, or stages from Mario vs. Donkey Kong.
Whatever the plan might be, it makes sense that LEGO is planning on giving DK more focus than it already has. Donkey Kong Bananza is a bestseller on Switch 2, with more than 4.5 million copies sold in less than a year. Bananza marked the first truly new Donkey Kong game in more than a decade, not counting the remakes and ports that were released throughout the Switch era. This is arguably the biggest spotlight the character has had since the SNES era, when the Donkey Kong Country trilogy debuted.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)
The future of Donkey Kong is looking brighter than it has in a very long time. Donkey Kong Bananza continues to see support from in-game events, and the big ape might even get his own movie. Actor Seth Rogen voiced the character in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and the actor has shared his enthusiasm for a spin-off. Illumination has a mysterious Nintendo movie coming in 2028, but fans will have to wait and see if it has anything to do with the DK crew.
