PETALING JAYA, March 11 — Illumination and Nintendo are teaming up to produce a new animated film based on the world of Super Mario Bros.
The most recent collaboration between these companies was for last year’s film, The Super Mario Bros.
The specific fanciful characters the new film will focus on, whether they be plumbers, princesses, Koopas, or other denizens of the Mushroom Kingdom remain unclear, and the partners have refrained from using the term sequel according to Variety.
The companies however have confirmed that the movie will hit cinemas on April 3, 2026, in the US and various other global markets, with releases in other regions slated throughout April.
It will be produced by Chris Meledandri, the founder and CEO of Illumination, and Shigeru Miyamoto, a representative director and prominent figure at Nintendo, renowned in the gaming world.
This forthcoming instalment, yet to be named, will receive financial backing from both Universal Pictures and Nintendo, and will be theatrically distributed globally by Universal Pictures.
The announcement of the upcoming Mario Bros. film was made on Mario Day, an annual celebration utilised by Nintendo to provide discounts on games and devices.
Meledandri and Miyamoto disclosed the progress of the newest movie through a collaborative video presentation.
“It’ll have a bright and fun story,” Miyamoto hinted.
“This time we’re thinking about broadening Mario’s world further.”
On how that expansion will materialise, Miyamoto would only comment, “We’ll let you know once we’re at the stage where we’re ready to share more.”
The subsequent animated film will be directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, with Matthew Fogel handling the writing duties.
