If you’ve ever sat through the 1993 ‘Super Mario Bros.’ movie, well, all I can say is that I’m sincerely sorry that happened to you. But in a few years, Nintendo will be getting another shot at bringing the plucky plumbers to the big screen, and this time, they’ve got the creators of ‘Despicable Me’ in their corner.
A ‘Super Mario Bros.’ animated movie is currently in “priority development” at Illumination, with a projected 2022 theater release. Illumination’s founder, Chris Meledandri, is not daunted by the sour film history the series has under its belt. Rather, he sees it as a challenge and an opportunity to do better by Mario and Nintendo. In order to properly gel the film with its source material, Meledandri is working closely with the creator of the ‘Mario Bros.’ series, Shigeru Miyamoto. “The challenge,” Meledandri said to Variety, “is taking things that are so thin in their original form and finding depth that doesn’t compromise what generations of fans love about Mario, but also feels organic to the iconography and can support a three-act structure.”
No plot or casting details about the film have been released, though it’s a safe assumption that Mario’s longtime voice actor Charles Martinet will either take the role or be somehow involved in the casting process.
