Summary
Following the success ofThe Super Mario Bros. Movie, Illumination is reportedly pitching Nintendo anAvengers-styleSuper Smash Bros.film. Illumination, an animation studio under the Universal Studios umbrella, is the same team behind Mario’s super-successful 2023 feature film. Despite mixed reviews,The Super Mario Bros. Moviewas a massive success at the box office, where it became the highest-grossing video game movie of all time. It’s not just successful by video game adaptation standards, either;The Super Mario Bros. Movieis simply one of the highest-grossing animated films ever made and Illumination’s highest-grossing project to date.
AfterThe Super Mario Bros. Moviejoined the billion-dollar club, it was only a matter of time before Nintendo followed up with another big-screen debut. The video game company went in a bit of a different direction, however, as Nintendo announced it was teaming up with Sony for alive-actionLegend of Zeldamovie. Still, that’s just one iron in the fire for a company that is absolutely loaded with popular IP. Given the success of Nintendo and Illumination’s partnership so far, it isn’t hard to imagine that the two could team up for more animation projects in the future.
Industry insiderDaniel Richtmanis reporting that Illumination has pitched anAvengers-styleSuper Smash Bros.movie. Like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this project would feature several spin-off films from various other Nintendo personalities.The Super Mario Bros. Movieintroduced characters like Bowser, Donkey Kong, Luigi, and Peach alongside Mario, but the roster still has plenty of spots to fill. It should be noted that Richtman’s track record isn’t perfect, but the film industry scooper has gotten plenty right in the past as well. As always, reports like this should be treated with a grain of salt until an official announcement is made.
At the moment, it is only being reported that Illumination has pitched the idea to Nintendo. So even if this is true, there is no word about whether Nintendo plans to greenlight these plans. Many studios have tried to emulate the MCU model in the past, and few have really stuck the landing. In fact, Universal famously set up the Dark Universe based on the studio’s classic movie monsters, but that idea was scrapped after just two films.
Still, aSuper Smash Bros.feature is aMario Moviespin-off that makes a lot of sense. Again, Nintendo has an impressive library of IPs that are ripe for cinematic adventures.Kirby, Zelda, Metroid,andFoxare all beloved franchises with enough lore to support their own animated films. ThePokemonfranchise alone has spawned dozens of film and TV series adaptations over the years.
AsSuper Smash Bros. Ultimateis one of theNintendo Switch’s best-selling games, it certainly makes sense from a popularity standpoint. The hypothetical film could be a great place to showcase not only Nintendo’s popular IP but perhaps some characters from outside the Big N.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
WHERE TO PLAY
Gaming icons clash in the ultimate brawl you can play anytime, anywhere! Smash rivals off the stage as new characters Simon Belmont and King K. Rool join Inkling, Ridley, and every fighter in Super Smash Bros. history. Enjoy enhanced speed and combat at new stages based on the Castlevania series, Super Mario Odyssey, and more!Having trouble choosing a stage? Then select the Stage Morph option to transform one stage into another while battling—a series first! Plus, new echo fighters Dark Samus, Richter Belmont, and Chrom join the battle. Whether you play locally or online, savor the faster combat, new attacks, and new defensive options, like a perfect shield. Jam out to 900 different music compositions and go 1-on-1 with a friend, hold a 4-player free-for-all, kick it up to 8-player battles and more!
