'Super Mario Bros.' Animated Movie In The Works At Illumination

Movie studios have been trying to cash in on the popularity of hit videogame franchises for almost as long as games have been around. However, that has proved easier said than done as most games to screen adaptions have been both box-office and critical duds. One of the first high-profile failures was the 1990s Super Mario Bros movie with the late great Bob Hoskins. Now though, enough time has passed that Nintendo is willing to let somebody have another go at bringing their biggest franchise to the big screen.. but this time in an animated form.

Nintendo has expressed interest in animated films based on their characters for a little while now, and has apparently had discussions with a number of studios- the last thing we heard was Sony were interested in signing on. This week reports have emerged that Ninty could be close to finalising a deal with Illumination Entertainment, the studio behind Despicable Me and  The Secret Life Of Pets. The project is said to be in early development at the studio's Paris branch. 

Mario is as popular as ever- his latest game Super Mario Oddysee went on to become the fastest selling game in the franchise's 30+ plus year history- but can a Mario film work?  It's true that the games are not known for their storylines, but the character animation and world-building in the recent games are so full of charm it's easy to see that translating well.

Are Illumination the right people for the job? It's reported that Nintendo are only willing to sign over the rights on the condition that they will have creative control over the film, so that at least is reassuring. It's worth reiterating that the deal is not yet done, and this still could fall through- but it's looking like it's close to happening. Nintendo has already signed a deal with Universal, Illumination's parent company to produce theme park attractions based on their characters.

Are you excited for a Mario animated movie? Or do you think it's a terrible idea? Sound off in the comments or let us know via our social media channels!

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