Nintendo and Illumination’s animated partnership isn’t coming to an end anytime soon. According to a recently updated release schedule on Universal’s Spanish website, a thus far “Untitled Illumination/Nintendo Event Film” is set for release on April 12th, 2028. As one would expect, the film is listed under animation, which is getting fans speculating that this might be a Donkey Kong film.
That assumption doesn’t come from nothing. Last year, Nintendo and Universal filed a copyright for an “Untitled Donkey Kong Project.” We also have the release date of this new film to go off of, which puts it at roughly two years following The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. While it wouldn’t be impossible for another Mario film to happen that quickly, the Galaxy Movie came three years after The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Chances are, Illumination is working to expand its partnership with Nintendo via different franchises with other films slotting between Mario releases.
We also have to consider how prominent Donkey Kong has become in recent times. While not a launch title, Donkey Kong Bananza was the big 3D platformer that ushered in the Nintendo Switch 2 era. Typically, Nintendo launches consoles with either a Mario or Zelda game, and though Mario Kart World could be considered in the broader Mario franchise, it’s not a platformer like we’ve seen in the past. DK Bananza took that role, not to mention was developed by the same team that did Super Mario Odyssey.
All told, this copyright is likely not false. Leaks like this happen all the time in Hollywood. We don’t know if this is a Donkey Kong film or not, but that seems likely. I guess we’ll just have to wait a few years to find out for certain.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
