Be Warned, A Mario Cinematic Universe Is On The Way
Forget the DC Extended Universe, the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters, or even the Marvel Cinematic Universe - there's a new franchise in town. We're going down the Warp Pipe for an animated Mario movie starring Chris Pratt as the portly plumber, while there are already reports a Donkey Kong spin-off will expand the Mushroom Kingdom.
Despite the internet being divided about Star-Lord voicing the titular Mario in his movie, it was always likely Universal wasn't going to stop with just one movie. The casting of Seth Rogen as DK was already a tantalising tease of more, but now, one of Nintendo's biggest names has all but confirmed the MCU (no, not that one).
What's Coming To The Mario Cinematic Universe?
Although there's no official word on which other movies could be on the way, you might as well look at the Super Smash Bros. roster to see where the Mario Cinematic Universe could be heading. Discussing the expanding world of Nintendo IPs, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto has opened up about the future of the franchise.
Speaking during an investors Q&A (via David Gibson), Miyamoto confirmed work is "pretty much done" on the Mario movie. When asked about what else is in the works, he reiterated that the studio won't be taking the approach of Disney and the MCU by commissioning multiple movies at once. Instead, it will be a case by case basis. This is an interesting idea, but in theory, would mean we won't be getting post-credit stingers that set up the next movie - similar to what Sonic the Hedgehog did with Tails' post-credits arrival.
Hyping the release of Mario, Miyamoto said he has a "very good feeling about it but we are very careful not to betray customers and meet expectations". Despite all the buzz about a blossoming Mario Cinematic Universe, he was keen to remind everyone that Nintendo won't be abandoning its bread and butter of releasing video games.
Where Do We See The Mario Cinematic Universe?
Despite Miyamoto's cryptic musings, we doubt it's going to be Mario and done. We guess that Universal's disastrous dumpster fire that was the Dark Universe is why Nintendo isn't announcing a whole slate of movies in one go. A more cautious stance makes a lot of sense. Even Warner Bros. has struggled with the DCEU. Sadly, not everything has the magic touch of Kevin Feige and the MCU.
Still, it's easy to theorise on what other movies could fit under Universal's very own Mario Cinematic Universe. The fact Charlie Day has been cast as Luigi in Mario sounds like it's a Luigi's Mansion spin-off waiting to happen. Elsewhere, it's easy to imagine a Yoshi's Story-inspired adventure or building toward a full-blown Mario Kart ensemble.
Taking things further afield, isn't it about time we saw The Legend of Zelda get its time to shine? Netflix famously canned a Zelda series, but in the wake of shows like The Witcher, bringing Link to life on the small or silver screen sounds like a license to print for money. For the time being, the focus is on Pratt's Mario rescuing Anya Taylor-Joy's Peach from Jack Black's Bowser. Honestly, you couldn't make this stuff up.