Illumination (HQ: Santa Monica, CA, USA; Founder and CEO: Chris Meledandri) and Nintendo Co., Ltd. (HQ: Kyoto, Minami-ku, Japan; Representative Director and President: Shuntaro Furukawa, “Nintendo” hereafter) today announced that their new animated film based on the world of Super Mario Bros. will be released worldwide during the 2022 holiday season. Universal Pictures will release the film in North America on December 21st, 2022, with the release schedule for additional countries and regions to be announced at a future date. The film will be co-financed by Universal Pictures and Nintendo.
In addition, the two companies announced the voice actors for the characters Mario (Chris Pratt), Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), Luigi (Charlie Day), Bowser (Jack Black), Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen), Cranky Kong (Fred Armisen), Kamek (Kevin Michael Richardson) and Spike (Sebastian Maniscalco). Each voice actor was cast for their ability to capture the unique spirit of their character.
This new animated film will be produced by Chris Meledandri of Illumination and Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo, directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, who previously collaborated on the animated series Teen Titans Go! and the film Teen Titans Go! To the Movies. The screenplay of the film will be written by Matthew Fogel, whose writing credits include “The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part” and the upcoming Illumination film “Minions: The Rise of Gru.”
“Mario and Luigi are two of the most beloved heroes in all of popular culture, and we are honored to have the unique opportunity to work so closely with Shigeru Miyamoto and the widely imaginative team at Nintendo to bring these characters to life in an animated movie, unlike any film Illumination has made to date,” said Chris Meledandri, Illumination’s Founder and CEO, and outside director of Nintendo.
“We are collaborating with Chris and his experienced team to not just create a character licensed film, but a new piece of entertainment which brings Super Mario Bros. to life on the screen, and allows everyone to enjoy whether or not they know about the game. The production so far is constructive and going very well, and both parties are learning a lot from each other. We humbly ask that fans wait just a little longer for the premiere, and we hope they look forward to seeing the unique characters from Super Mario Bros. on the big screen,” said Shigeru Miyamoto, Representative Director, Fellow of Nintendo.
Illumination and Nintendo’s new Super Mario Bros. animated film is heading to theaters in Holiday 2022
