Precisely two years ago, it was reported that Nintendo and Illumination had finalised their deal regarding an official
Super Mario Bros. animated movie —
see that report here. Since then, we've heard nothing to do with the project. However, that has finally changed.
In a recent document (via
Gamefragger), Nintendo Japan president Shuntaro Furukawa explains that production of the
Super Mario Bros. animated movie is
"moving along smoothy." That's certainly good to hear and; what's more is they're expecting that it will be ready for theatres by 2022.
Furukawa continues, describing the project as one of the bigger examples of the new ways Nintendo is providing consumers with to interact with the brand. Both Nintendo and Universal Pictures are funding the film but Nintendo will hold the rights — which means that it can be
"leveraged for business opportunities."
Nintendo is all over the project; it's said that the video game company are
"proactively involved in" development and production of the
Super Mario Bros. animated movie. Nintendo's Sigeru Miyamoto himself is serving as a producer alongside Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri.