Nintendo has given fans the gift they never wanted, another Super Mario Bros. movie.
The Japanese console-maker announced that it is working on an animated film adaptation of the Super Mario franchise, adding that “production is moving ahead smoothly.”
The film is being produced in help from Universal Studios, with funding coming from both Nintendo and Universal Pictures.
Film adaptations of video games have a bit of a stereotype (in that they are stereotypically very, very bad). And it might as well have been the original Super Mario Bros. film that began the trend of terrible video game movies.
Super Mario Bros. starring Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo and Dennis Hopper was released in 1993. It was widely panned at launch for taking far too many liberties with the source material (Hopper leads a group of extra-dimensional dinosaurs disguised as humans hoping to take over the earth) and terrible acting.
While not much is known about the new film, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto appears to be working closely on the project. The new film is scheduled for release in 2022.
Let’s hope in can buck the trend.
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