Illumination Entertainment, the studio behind the Despicable Me franchise, The Secret Life of Pets, and Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, has struck a deal with Nintendo to produce a Super Mario Bros. feature film. The famous plumbers previously graced the big screen in the widely panned 1993 live action film starring Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo and Dennis Hopper, as well as starring in an animated TV series.
Shigeru Miyamoto, renowned video game designer and creator of Mario Bros., as well as The Legend of Zelda and Donkey Kong, has been part of the negotiations with Illumination, and will likely serve as producer. Nintendo has been hesitant to licence their characters out for TV shows or films since the disastrous live action film. Not only is the movie considered by the three principle actors to be one of the worst projects any of them worked on, but it also ended the budding directing careers of the husband and wife team that helmed it. Sitting at a surprisingly high 15% on Rotten Tomatoes, the film can best be summarized by this review by You Tuber Denis SANS: “Prepare your anus.”
Nintendo’s agreement with Illumination could allow for the film to become a franchise. Given the recently announced Super Nintendo World being developed by Universal Studios (Illumination’s parent company), it’s likely we’ll be seeing a lot more Nintendo in the the theaters in the future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtMZKYnLg5c