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Even before The Super Mario Bros. Movie was a smash hit for Universal Pictures and Illumination, it was rumored that more movies based on Nintendo’s classic characters were on the way. Now, it looks like Donkey Kong is on deck to get his own film.
Universal and Nintendo have jointly filed a copyright (via IGN) for an “untitled Donkey Kong motion picture.” It’s ironic because decades earlier, Universal and Nintendo battled it out in court over whether Donkey Kong infringed upon King Kong. Nintendo went on to win when that case when the company’s lawyer demonstrated that Universal had already argued that King Kong was in the public domain.
The two companies buried the hatchet a long time ago, and they collectively raked in $1.361 billion worldwide from the first Mario Bros. movie. The sequel, which is reportedly called The Super Mario World Movie, will be released on April 3, 2026. Nintendo’s other major project in Hollywood, the live-action Legend of Zelda movie, was recently delayed until May 7, 2027.
Seth Rogen voiced Donkey Kong in the 2023 movie, which cast the character as a secondary hero alongside Mario (Chris Pratt). Presumably Rogen will return for either the Mario Bros. sequel or the Donkey King movie, if not both. But that has yet to be announced.
In the meantime, Donkey Kong has received a redesign ahead of his first new game in 11 years, Donkey Kong Bananza. That title will be released on Nintendo Switch 2 on July 17. The classic game, Donkey Kong 64, may also be among a handful of titles heading to Nintendo Switch Online in the near future.
