TheNintendo Cinematic Universe (NCU) looks set to expandwith an exciting new project, following the upcoming release ofThe Super Mario Bros. Moviesequel and the live-actionLegend of Zeldafilm. The title has not been officially confirmed yet, but eagle-eyedNintendofans spotted a new copyright filing that indicates the company has plans with Universal Pictures to bring more of its beloved IP to the big screen after the staggering success of their joint CG-animated adventure about Italian-American plumbers Mario and Luigi.
X/Twitter user Wario64, a known source of video game news, shared links to both the Public Records System and the gaming forum ResetEra, whose users seemingly unearthed the copyright filing from Nintendo and Universal Pictures. The screenshot of the record (shared below) shows a listing titled “Untitled Donkey Kong Project; Motion picture,” with the date of registration logged as July 07, 2025. No other details are provided in the record, but everything points to the Mario franchise’s favorite gorillagetting his own standalone movie.
What We Want to See In a Donkey Kong Movie
The Super Mario Bros. Movie set up an exciting future for Donkey Kong to get his own solo film, and here is what we want to see.
The conspicuous new project wouldn’t be Donkey Kong’s first big-screen outing, as the fan-favorite character had a fairly sizable role in 2023’sThe Super Mario Bros. Movie,with Seth Rogen voicing the heir to the throne of the Jungle Kingdom. There’s a lot of opportunity there with the family unit of the Kongs. And if theFast & Furiousfilms have taught us anything, it’s all about family," the actor joked in a 2022 interview with Collider, responding to rumors at the time of a Mario spin-off centered around Nintendo’s boisterousbarrel-throwing icon.
What’s Next for Nintendo?
Nintendo currently has two movies in development. The first is the highly anticipated sequel toThe Super Mario Bros. Movie,which is set to release in April 2026, and will likely feature Donkey Kong once again alongside severalmore crowd-pleasing cameos. The second film is a live-action adaptation of the fantasy adventure seriesThe Legend of Zelda, which recently had its release date pushed back to March 2027. At one time, a secondDetective Pikachufilm was also said to be in the works, but the status of that project is unknown.
It is no surprise that Nintendo is expanding its cinematic universe.The Super Mario Bros. Moviewas a huge success and achieved massive box office results. The film, starring the famous Italian plumber, grossed $1.36 billion worldwide and broke multiple box office records, including the biggest opening for an animated film, which ultimately led to it becoming the highest-grossing video game film of all time. It received mixed reviews from critics, with only 59% on Rotten Tomatoes, but its much more favorable 95% audience score suggests there are plenty of people who would show up for a sequel (and its potential future spin-offs).
Sources:X/Twitter,Collider
Super Mario World
