Nintendo has struck theatrical gold with 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie, that's for sure. Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and produced by Universal's award-winning animation studio Illumination, the film leveraged an ensemble cast featuring renowned actors like Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, and Seth Rogen to set new box office records, quickly becoming the biggest gaming adaptation ever with a final tally of $1.36 billion gross. Eventually, the movie was only barely surpassed by Barbie as 2023's highest-grossing film.
As you'd expect, Nintendo and Illumination immediately began work on a sequel, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which launched on April 1 and enjoyed a similar box-office run, easily securing the top spot as the highest-grossing movie of 2026 with a final tally of $970 million gross. Granted, movies like the new Spider-Man and Avengers installments are likely to blaze through, but that doesn't make Nintendo's formula any less impressive.
We already know a third movie is coming up, and Toad voice actor Keegan-Michael Key has teased when it might drop in an interview with ScreenRant.
We want to get it right. We want to get everything right. We want to get all the details right. And Michael and Aaron, who are our directors, have a real passion for this. I think they're as passionate about these projects as the audience is. And so we got to get it right, we got to get it right. So I apologize. But it'll be worth the wait. It'll be worth the wait…'29 is better than sometime, right?
Key's comment follows Jack Black's, who voices Bowser, the saga's villain. Black had previously told fans to expect the new adventure around 2029. That would be consistent with the three-year wait between Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Galaxy; moreover, it gives Nintendo a busy theatrical calendar year after year.
In 2027, Nintendo fans will be treated to the first-ever live-action adaptation of The Legend of Zelda, featuring Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Link and Bo Bragason as Princess Zelda. Moreover, rumors point to a Donkey Kong movie spin-off being ready for 2028, possibly in April, which would fall in the same calendar slot as all of Nintendo's previous movies.
Which of these upcoming movies are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments!
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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