The Super Mario film from 2023 crossed $1.3 billion at the global box office. Nintendo and Illumination followed that up by announcing a Donkey Kong movie, a Legend of Zelda film, and now a Super Mario Galaxy movie packed with cameos from across the Nintendo roster. At some point, the pattern becomes impossible to ignore. Is Nintendo building its own cinematic universe?
Shigeru Miyamoto, the designer behind Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, and Pikmin, sat down with Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri to address exactly that question, and his answer is characteristically careful.
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What Miyamoto actually said (and what he didn't)
Miyamoto stopped short of confirming a Super Smash Bros.-style crossover universe, but he didn't rule it out either. His position centers on Nintendo maintaining deep involvement in every film adaptation, from early planning stages through to theatrical release. That's a meaningful commitment from a company that spent decades avoiding movie adaptations after the 1993 Super Mario Bros. live-action disaster left a lasting scar.
The Super Mario Galaxy movie is reportedly packed with character cameos from across Nintendo's catalog, which has sparked speculation that the company is deliberately building toward a shared continuity. What stands out is how intentional Nintendo's approach appears. These aren't licensing deals farmed out to studios with minimal oversight. Miyamoto and Meledandri are positioning each film as a project Nintendo actively controls.
Meledandri's track record matters here. As the producer behind the Despicable Me franchise and the first Mario film, he knows how to build long-running animated properties. Pairing that instinct with Miyamoto's obsessive quality control creates a very specific kind of production pipeline.
Why the Smash Bros. comparison keeps coming up
Super Smash Bros. is Nintendo's answer to the question "what if all our characters existed in the same world?" It's a concept that has sold over 82 million units across the series. Fans see the cameo-heavy Galaxy movie as a cinematic version of that same idea.
Nintendo has confirmed it will maintain direct creative involvement in all its movie adaptations going forward, as outlined in the studio's recent presentation. The confirmed slate currently includes:
- The Legend of Zelda (live-action, in development at Sony)
- Donkey Kong (animated, in development with Illumination)
- Super Mario Galaxy (animated, follow-up to the 2023 film)
That's three major IP adaptations running concurrently, each with Nintendo directly involved in creative decisions. Whether they share a canon or stay in separate continuities remains the open question.
What this means for players watching from the sidelines
For fans, the practical implication is that Nintendo's film output is no longer a side project. These movies are being treated as extensions of the brand with the same care Nintendo applies to its games, which marks a significant shift from the company's historically cautious approach to licensing.
The Super Mario Galaxy movie doesn't have a release date confirmed yet, but the Zelda live-action film is targeting a theatrical release. Keep an eye on Nintendo Direct presentations for any updates on the cinematic slate, as that's where the company has historically dropped its biggest non-game announcements. For more on what's happening across gaming and entertainment, make sure to check out more:
