Back in January, Nintendo confirmed that they are collaborating with Illumination Entertainment, the animation studio behind the Despicable Me film series, Minions, and Secret Life of Pets, and Universal Pictures to bring the world's most iconic plumber Super Mario to the big screen.
Reggie Fils-Aime, Nintendo of America president, recently provided us with a long-awaited update on the animated film. Here's what Aime had to say to IGN:
Certainly our focus from a Nintendo perspective as well as working with such an accomplished partner like Illumination is to make sure that what is created is something both fans will love as well as it will be a great introduction to folks who are not as familiar with the world of Mario.
Fans will be happy to know that Nintendo’s own Shigeru Miyamoto is heavily involved in the film's scripting and production - working alongside producer Chris Meledandri.
Along with the upcoming theme-park based on the game franchise, named "Super Nintendo World", which is set to open in 2020; Universal and Nintendo are apparently actively conversing on even more possible projects they could collaborate on - as Aime explains:
We see ourselves as making worldwide consumers smile through our intellectual property. Fundamentally, we do that four ways. We do it with mobile. We do it with our licensed relationships with other companies [like Kellogg’s]…We have other entertainment, which is where we put Universal Studios and Illumination. Then we have our dedicated video game business.
This is a key part of our strategy. This is an area we are having a range of conversations. Just like we did for the other big two partnerships, when we have something to announce, we will.
Are you excited to see the Super Mario Bros. on take cinema by storm? Will you be paying Super Nintendo World a visit?