Nintendo Announces Production of New Animated Film Featuring Mario; Miyamoto Wants ‘To Expand the World of Mario’

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:32 JST, March 11, 2024

Nintendo Co. has announced that it is coproducing a new animated film based on the world of Super Mario Bros. with Illumination, a California-based producer of animated event films.

The companies stated Sunday they plan to release the film on April 3, 2026.

Shigeru Miyamoto, representative director of Nintendo and the creator of Mario, and Chris Meledandri, founder and CEO of Illumination, will be have coproducer credits.

The latest film follows “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which was released last year and became a worldwide hit.

In a video released online, Miyamoto said, “We are thinking of expanding the world of Mario even further, making it brighter and more fun.”

The previous film, released in April 2023, collected over $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office, making it the highest-grossing movie based on a video game ever.

In November last year, Kyoto-based Nintendo also announced the production of a live-action movie based on its popular game “The Legend of Zelda.” The company is pursuing a strategy of using its popular characters as intellectual property in areas other than video games.