Now that The Super Mario Bros Movie is a certified worldwide hit, Shigeru Miyamoto seems interested in more Nintendo film adaptations coming sometime in the future. The video game giant previously hasn't dabbled much in the silver screen but seems happy with its working relationship with Illumination right now.Nintendo hasn't had too much luck with film adaptations in the past. The original Super Mario Bros. Movie from 1993 was a huge failure and is considered by many critics to be, not just one of the worst video game adaptations, but one of the worst films of all time. It took a while for Shigeru Miyamoto to have an appetite for film adaptations again, but The Super Mario Bros. Movie with Illumination finally got its announcement in 2021, and its success opens up a world of Nintendo properties to the potential of onscreen adaptations for the first time. Miyamoto did an interview with the Japanese newspaper Nikkei recently, in which he seemed optimistic about the possibility of future characters getting their own movies. An English translation of the interview from Nintendo Everything has Miyamoto quoted as saying, "Nintendo is like a talent agency. We have plenty of other entertainers. There are many possible ways we could go, such as using characters that would be fit for movies, or very well-known characters." The imagination of fans has been running wild with the possibility of more Nintendo IPs getting movies. Some have even made mock roadmaps showing the possibility of a "Nintendo Cinematic Universe".
One mockup imagines a string of movies eventually leading up to an "Avengers-style" team-up film that cleverly utilizes the Super Smash Bros. Name. There's been an interesting lore to the Super Smash Bros games for years that fans are constantly following and theorizing over, so it would certainly be interesting to see Masahiro Sakurai's brainchild brought to the big screen after generating so many cinematic moments in game. Both Miyamoto and Illumination CEO Chris Meladandri have expressed interest in continuing their partnership, so there may be some type of announcement on what this will mean soon.
As of right now, nothing is official or confirmed to be happening anytime in the near future. At a very minimum, it may be safe to assume that a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie will be happening. Nearly every successful Illumination movie in the past has received multiple sequels, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie is already the highest-grossing movie based on a video game of all time, surpassing other hits like Sonic the Hedgehog. Fans will just have to wait and see what else Nintendo and Illumination have on the way.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is out everywhere in theaters now.
Source: Nikkei and Nintendo Everything