Nintendo confirms that the highly anticipated Super Mario Bros. movie is still moving forward as planned. Although not much is known yet about the forthcoming Super Mario Bros. film, both Illumination Studios and Nintendo will be working closely on the project.
This Super Mario Bros. film is attempting to break the so-called Super Mario Bros. was released in 1993 and was panned by both critics and fans alike. The film was so heavily criticized that it dissuaded Nintendo from jumping back into the movie business for years - until now.
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa shares at the group's Corporate Management Policy Briefing that the Super Mario Bros. film is moving ahead as planned and will be scheduled for release in 2022. The movie is notably different from the live-action adaptation in that this forthcoming film will be entirely animated. Furukawa adds that Nintendo has been involved in this particular project every step of the way, and the company plans on leveraging the film for various other "business opportunities" as well.
Nintendo will be partnering with Illumination Studios to produce this newest endeavor, with Shigeru Miyamoto and Chris Meledandri representing the two respective corporations. More specifically, Nintendo's partnership with Illumination is particularly telling; the latter is known for its creation of Despicable Me, The Secret Life of Pet, and Minions, among other films. As such, while fans may recoil at the possibility of another repeat of the 1993 film, it seems like Nintendo knows precisely what's at stake and is taking the time to roll out a movie that will be unrecognizable from its counterpart years prior.
Although Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Peach have long acted as playable characters, seeing them on a theatrical screen will be a nice change of pace. With the constant release of new Mario games - the latest of which is Super Mario 3D All-Stars, which is going for incredibly high prices online - an entertaining Super Mario Bros. will undoubtedly be a lucrative investment for Nintendo. However, only time will tell if Nintendo can rise above the video game-based movie curse - and if it will be able to shake off the shadow of the 1993 live-action adaptation.
Source: Shuntaro Furukawa/Nintendo
