Back in February of this year it was announced that Nintendo was looking to get back into the movie business by teaming with Illumination Entertainment to develop an animated adaptation of the iconic video game series Super Mario Bros., and now comes word that the project is officially moving ahead.
“I like that this was not done well the first time,” said Illumination’s Chris Meledandri, referring to the 1993 live-action abomination starring Bob Hoskhins and John Leguizamo as Mario and Luigi. “I think that’s more exciting or more worthy than simply making another version of a film that was done incredible well to begin with.”
“It’s an ambitious task,” he continued. “The challenge is taking things that are so thin in their original form and finding depth that doesn’t compromise what generations of fans love about Mario, but also feels organic to the iconography and can support a three-act structure.”
Meledandri – who just this week was announced as overseeing a reboot of the Shrek franchise – went on to confirm that he will be working closely with Mario creator Sigeru Miyamoto to ensure they get the animated movie right:
“We are keeping him front and center in the creation of this film. I’ve rarely seen that happen with any adaptation where the original creative voice is being embraced like we’re embracing Miyamoto. There’s a history in Hollywood of people believing that they know better than the people responsible for a property. I’ve made that mistake before.”
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As yet, there’s no word on an official release date for Super Mario Bros., but it’s thought that Illumination and Nintendo could be eyeing a 2022 date.
