Nintendo says it plans to release movies on a regular basis, following the success of The Super Mario Bros Movie.
In a presentation following the release of its second quarter financial results, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa explained the company’s current approach and structure for movies and videos based on its IP.
Furukawa noted that rather than simply handing over the IP to a film studio and letting them figure it out, Nintendo is “deeply involved” in the production of its movies, “from planning and development through to production”.
“For The Super Mario Bros Movie and the upcoming The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, our own Shigeru Miyamoto has served as a co-producer alongside Mr Chris Meledandri of Illumination,” he said. “For the live-action movie of The Legend of Zelda, Shigeru Miyamoto is co-producing with Mr Avi Arad of Arad Productions Inc, and has been closely involved since the initial planning stages.”
Furukawa also noted that Nintendo set up animation production company Nintendo Pictures – which was responsible for the recent Pikmin animated short Close to You – in 2022, and this year launched Nintendo Stars, a subsidiary aimed at proposing “new ways to enjoy our characters through various licensing and secondary use initiatives”.
Furukawa then showed a slide titled Building a Framework for a Consistent Release Cadence, which showed Nintendo’s three confirmed movies – The Super Mario Bros Movie in 2023, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie in 2026 and The Legend of Zelda in 2027 – along with two question marks and an ellipsis, suggesting there are more films to come.
According to Furukawa, Nintendo is “continuing to prepare for the ongoing release of movies in the future”, implying there may not be another three-year gap between Nintendo films like there is between both animated Mario movies.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie was announced via a short teaser included in September’s Nintendo Direct broadcast, which confirmed the film will release in April 2026.
It’s been claimed that the first full trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will be attached to Wicked for Good, which arrives in cinemas on November 21. This suggests the trailer will be published online before then.
The live-action Legend of Zelda movie is set to be released on May 7, 2027, and will be directed by Wes Ball, the director behind the Maze Runner trilogy and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
Ball said his vision for the movie – which will star Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Link and Bo Bragason as Zelda – is inspired by the work of Studio Ghibli co-founder and Spirited Away director Hayao Miyazaki.
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