Illumination’s founder, Chris Meledandri, recently spoke with Variety and provided an update regarding the studio's in-development Super Mario Bros. animated movie - and also announced that Illumination are rebooting the Shrek series.
Melendandri explained that the film is in "priority development" at Illumination and could be in theatres by 2022. He also compared the upcoming animated take to the old attempt at adapting Super Mario back in 1993. “I like that this was not done well the first time. I think that’s more exciting or more worthy than simply making another version of a film that was done incredibly well to begin with.”
Melendandri went on to explain that the upcoming film will top the previous one as they're working closely with the creator of the franchise: Shigeru Miyamoto.
We are keeping him front and center in the creation of this film. I’ve rarely seen that happen with any adaptation where the original creative voice is being embraced like we’re embracing Miyamoto. There’s a history in Hollywood of people believing that they know better than the people responsible for a property. I’ve made that mistake before.
He further explained that the challenging thing about the project is adding depth to the iconography whilst not compromising what makes it iconic: “It’s an ambitious task. The challenge 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."
What do you think about Melendandri's comments? Are you looking forward to seeing how Illumination handle the property?
Super Mario Bros. is set to hit theatres by 2022.