It’s not uncommon for popular gaming franchises to be turned into movies and while efforts like the Assassin’s Creed movie might have bombed, Nintendo would be hoping for a different result. According to a new report, Nintendo is thinking about developing a Mario movie in collaboration with Illumination Entertainment. This production company has worked on popular movies like Minions and Despicable Me.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Illumination Entertainment is close to striking a deal with Nintendo for an animated film that’s going to be based on its popular Mario character.
The report mentions that Illumination has been in talks with Nintendo about this project for almost a year. Nintendo is said to have pushed for its considerable involvement in the creative process. It’s no surprise that Nintendo is pushing for this because the live-action Mario film that was released in 1993 flopped badly.
This news won’t take many by surprise, given that Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima did reveal last year that the company was in talks with different Hollywood studios as it wants to bring Mario to the big screen. If a deal is reached and work on this project begins, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto is said to be the producer.