'Mario' movie news: Animated film in the works
An animated film about everyone's favorite video game characters, Mario and Luigi, is in the works at Illumination Entertainment.
First announced via press release on Nintendo's website on Thursday morning, Nintendo America confirmed the news with a tweet. "Nintendo and Illumination are partnering on a movie starring Mario, co-produced by Shigeru Miyamoto and Chris Meledandri."
Nintendo and Illumination are partnering on a movie starring Mario, co-produced by Shigeru Miyamoto and Chris Meledandri! pic.twitter.com/wVRPLIzcGJ
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 1, 2018
The announcement assures fans that the animated film adaptation will be in good hands. Miyamoto is the creator of the iconic "Mario" franchise, as well as a few other Nintendo properties. Meantime, Meledandri is the CEO of Illumination Entertainment, and best known for producing the "Despicable Me" franchise. It also produced recent hits such as "Sing" and "Life of Pets."
Back in November, the Wall Street Journal was first to reveal that Nintendo and Illumination are already close to seal a deal for a "Mario" film adaptation, dubbed as the "highest-profile" licensing deals made in Hollywood in years.
First launched in September 1985, the 32-year-old franchise has sold over 330 million units of games as well as spin-offs around the world. That does not include yet the overwhelming number of merchandise made under its name.
As of press time, fans could only guess how the storyline would go. What is clear at the moment is that it would follow the adventures of the two plumbers Mario and Luigi. It would be animated by the Illumination-owned Mac Guff studio located in Paris. Currently, the project is still in the early stages of development. Considering it is a fully animated film, fans should calm down their excitement for a bit as it may take still a few more years before it is released.
Universal Pictures will handle distribution of the still untitled film worldwide.
"Super Mario Bros." was first adapted into a film in 1993. It starred Bob Hoskins as Mario and John Leguizamo as his brother Luigi. The film, however, was a complete flop -- critically and box-office wise. This reportedly pushed Nintendo to reject any idea of a "Mario" film adaptation, until now.
