Nintendo to Establish a “Consistent Release Cadence”!!

Expect to see more Mario and Zelda on the big screen, as Nintendo plans to create a “consistent release” schedule for its big-screen projects. The Japanese video game company has two projects in the works — The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and the live-action Legend of Zelda adaptation — and wants to release more titles in the years to come while continuing to be hands-on with their development.

Nintendo released a document reporting on the company’s Q2 financial results, in which President Shuntaro Furukawa discussed the company’s initiative regarding future movie projects. According to Furukawa, he wants to build a “Consistent Release Cadence” framework that allows projects based on Nintendo‘s IP to be released regularly. Using the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie as a case study, Nintendo plans to continue its hands-on approach when producing these projects. Nintendo also showed a brief timeline of its movie releases in the document, featuring both Super Mario Bros. films and The Legend of Zelda, while hinting at two more projects left blank with no release dates.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie came out in 2023, 30 years after the release of the live-action film, Super Mario Bros. Unlike the 1993 feature, which was a box-office flop and poorly received, the animated adaptation starring Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, and Anya Taylor-Joy became a massive success. It grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide and became the 2nd-highest-grossing film of 2023. While critics gave it a fair reception, audiences praised it, giving it a 95% verified hot score on Rotten Tomatoes. While it didn’t get any Oscar nominations, it did get three Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Animated Feature Film, Best Original Song, and Cinematic and Box Office Achievement.

What Other Films Is Nintendo Working On?

Aside from The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and The Legend of Zelda, no other titles were officially announced. However, it was reported back in July that Nintendo and Universal filed for copyright for an untitled Donkey Kong project. While details for this project remain unknown, Seth Rogen expressed interest in a potential spin-off during an interview with ScreenRant, and pitched it as based on Donkey Kong Country. Additionally, Shigeru Miyamoto has expressed interest in bringing Pikmin to the big screen, believing in its potential for global appeal.