Super Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto has hinted that Nintendo could be planning to create their own cinematic universe.
Earlier this year, NME reports, the gaming giants confirmed they were making an animated Super Mario Bros. movie starring Chris Pratt as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach and Jack Black as Bowser. There have also been rumours that Donkey Kong, voiced by Seth Rogan, would be getting his own spin-off movie as well.
According to the report, the subject was brought up earlier this week during a Q+A session at Nintendo’s second quarter financial results presentation.
Speaking about the movie (and translated by Japan-based analyst and investment adviser David Gibson) Miyamoto said the “Super Mario Film is pretty much done” but they are still working on it. They’re currently “polishing the movie” and the company “have a very good feeling about it but we are very careful not to betray customers and meet expectations”.
Miyamoto went on to say that they would like to roll out with other characters and franchises, and want people to “experience them in a variety of ways”. He added Nintendo would approach the films “one by one, not say doing many at the same time.” The goal, he said, was to “try not to have over exposure.”
As well as Mario, other well-known Nintendo IPs include The Legend Of Zelda, Animal Crossing, Pikmin and Metroid.
Miyamoto went on to confirm that Nintendo would not be abandoning their legacy as a gaming company though, saying the movies would be designed to “drive interest in games”.
The casting of Chris Pratt as Mario received a mixed reaction on social media but Pratt has taken it in his stride, sharing an apparent “first look” at the Super Mario Bros film that’s just reworked footage from his appearance in Guardians Of The Galaxy.
The as-yet-untitled Super Mario Bros. movie is currently in production, and will be set for release in 2022.
