We're not even a calendar month away from the release of the Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and it looks like Nintendo and Illumination already have a third movie set for 2028, according to an updated version of Universal's schedule on its Spanish website.
Spotted by VGC, the updated schedule now lists "Untitled Illumination/Nintendo Event Film (April 2028)" on April 12, 2028. That could, of course, be the next Super Mario movie after Galaxy, or it could be the start of a new series like the rumoured Donkey Kong, Star Fox, and Metroid films.
While we've not yet seen Samus appear in either of the Super Mario films, and Donkey Kong was absent from the Galaxy movie, rumours about spin-off films for either of those have circled since the first Super Mario Bros. Movie smashed box office records. A Star Fox movie has also been rumoured ever since the character's appearance in the Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
Both the Super Mario Bros. Movie and the Super Mario Galaxy Movie have proven to be box office champions, bringing in well over a billion dollars in ticket sales between the two of them, so it's not entirely a surprise to see signs that Universal, Nintendo, and Illumination are already marking down on their calendars when they want the next film to be ready.
The question is simply, which film will it be. Will it be a spin-off and our first proper expansion of the growing Nintendo Cinematic Universe (NCU), or will the Super Mario films get a proper trilogy before a spin-off franchise is established?
Whatever it is, it'll likely be another major box office hit, if the success of the first two films are anything to go by. But before we even get to that, we'll see how the live-action Legend of Zelda Movie performs, which could be a bit of a wrench in future plans between Nintendo and Illumination, if the film fails to perform in a similar way to its animated siblings.
The Zelda movie started filming earlier this year, and is set to release on May 7, 2027.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
