The most famous plumber in the history of video games is getting set to make a return to the big screen in his very own animated film.
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, gaming giant Nintendo is finalizing a deal with Universal and Illumination Entertainment to make mustached delight Mario the center of his own blockbuster film adaptation. Both studios have previously combined forces on the hit Despicable Me franchise, turning those yellow-skinned minion characters into a global sensation in the process. The negotiations have been ongoing for nearly a year, with Nintendo demanding that Shigeru Miyamoto, one of the men responsible for developing Mario and his video game world, have heavy creative involvement in the filmmaking process.
The deal is expected to be finalized in the near future and, when both sides have signed off on the deal, it will mark Nintendo's first return to the Mario cinematic universe in nearly 25 years. The last time the plumber was immortalized on the big screen was in 1993's aptly-titled Super Mario Bros, starring Bob Hoskins as Mario and John Leguizamo as Luigi. The movie was a huge disappointment for the video game company, proving to be a bust at the box office and with critics when it was first released. In fact, the attempt was so bad, films based on much-loved console mainstays have nearly always suffered a similar fate. Remember Prince of Persia? How about Need For Speed? Most movie-going audiences won't either. However, with the hitmakers behind Gru and his band of minions spearheading the filmmaking process this time around, there's definitely some hope for a rebirth for Nintendo's movie appeal.
2017 has been a year that has seen Nintendo mine their nostalgia factory for more than just movie ideas. Earlier this fall, they launched the classic edition of their SNES console, which has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years. Popular characters like Donkey Kong, Link, Star Fox, Samus and many others are all part of the games that were included in the revamping. You can check out all of the details here and sound off on the prospects of a Mario animated feature in the comments below.