Nintendo and Illumination may have a mystery movie coming in 2028

If you weren’t a big fan of Nintendo’s latest foray into big-screen animations, the company may have a chance to redeem itself.

It follows a recent poorly reviewed but financially lucrative release The Super Mario Galaxy movieit looks like Nintendo’s relationship with animation studio Illumination is set to continue for a few more years.

Universal Pictures Spain has uploaded the release schedule for the next few years on its website (courtesy of Kotaku) and, lo and behold, one of the upcoming movies is called “UNTITLED ILLUMINATION/NINTENDO EVENT FILM.”

That’s…maybe not what it’s actually going to be called, but with a tentative release date of April 12, 2028, they have time to get that part.

Editor’s note: Spoilers for The Super Mario Galaxy movie they are in front.

Naturally, the internet is full of speculation about what this movie could be. Given that it’s only been two years since the release of the The Super Mario Galaxy movieIt is reasonable to think that this is something else, although we have to go others It’s an open possibility that this could be another Chris Pratt car. (Pratt-lead Super Mario Bros. the film came out in 2023, followed Super Mario Galaxy in 2026, and the third is expected in 2029.)

For Nintendo fans, the most likely candidate is a variant Donkey Kong animated feature starring Seth Rogen, who voiced the tie-wearing monkey Super Mario Bros. Movie but apparently he wasn’t there The Galaxy. I am not expressing this idea automatically, as it is already copyrighted by an untitled person Donkey Kong the film revolves around there. As we have just received a great deal Donkey Kong Switch 2 game, this would make a lot of sense.

Another less likely (but still worth mentioning) candidate exists Star Fox.

Nintendo’s popular but somewhat silent space dogfighting franchise has just received a shot in the arm with protagonist Fox McCloud as the main character. The Super Mario Galaxy moviesaid Glen Powell.

Some recent reports suggest that Nintendo wants to renew Star Fox with a new game, so maybe a Powell spin-off movie could happen in a few years. However, Donkey Kong feels very possible at this time.

Finally, we have to consider the possibility that “UNTITLED ILUMINATION/NINTENDO EVENT FILM” is a mistake, a re-release, or something similar that is anti-climatic.

One thing we can rule out is the upcoming live action The Legend of Zelda film, which recently wrapped production. That’s already slated for a 2027 release, and obviously, as a live-action movie, Illumination couldn’t be made. In fact, it’s not even a Universal release, as Sony owns that one.

Hopefully, whatever this ends up being is better than the first two Mario animated movies.