The massive success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie means other video game movies have become more likely. The Super Mario Bros. Movie has been breaking box-office records left and right, with Illumination Entertainment’s hit film putting the spotlight on the iconic Nintendo franchise once again. As it typically goes in Hollywood, the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie most likely means that tons of other studios will start developing family-friendly video game projects. So, here are nine video game franchises that are more likely to get a movie after The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Video game adaptations have always struggled, with them often being fairly poor translations of the source material. While there are still some bad video game movies and TV shows that release today, things have gotten a lot better, with projects like The Last of Us, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Castlevania proving that the genre isn’t fundamentally broken. The Super Mario Bros. Movie, however, is one of the biggest successes, with the film’s box office and critical reception proving that these movies can work in the right hands. While some gaming adaptations are already in the works, these franchises in the same vein as Mario just got a lot more likely.
9 Donkey Kong
While Donkey Kong and his friends do appear in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Nintendo frequently treats the Donkey Kong series as a completely separate franchise. However, there have been heavy rumors that Illumination is eyeing a Donkey Kong spin-off movie, and the success of the first Mario film makes this spin-off even more likely. The world of the Kongs has already been proven to work, and a spin-off like this could have a quick turnaround time, allowing Illumination to capitalize on the Mario craze. There is plenty of Donkey Kong source material to pull from, and a Donkey Kong Country movie adaptation seems more likely than ever.
8 The Legend Of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo’s biggest franchises, and with Mario proving to be a huge success, Nintendo may look into bringing Link’s fantasy world of Hyrule to the big screen. The tone and target demographic of The Legend of Zelda switches frequently, and while a more adult movie would be fun, that probably won’t happen. Instead, it would make more sense for Nintendo to continue their partnership making family movies with Illumination, meaning a film in the style of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is far more likely. The world of Zelda has a pretty dense story, making it ripe for a film adaptation.
7 Kirby
Nintendo may also be interested in jumping from the bright, colorful world of Mario to the bright, colorful world of Kirby. Kirby has always been big, with new games coming out nearly every year. The recognizable pink puffball could easily carry his own movie. After all, the franchise was already adapted into an anime called Kirby: Right Back At Ya! that concluded with a TV movie. The Kirby series has proven itself big enough to warrant a film adaptation, and if Nintendo wishes to keep expanding into the film work, a Kirby movie would be the perfect choice.
6 Pac-Man
Although it isn’t a Nintendo franchise, Bandai-Namco’s beloved Pac-Man franchise could also be seeing a movie adaptation after the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Pac-Man is one of the most recognizable gaming mascots of all time, and although the game is fairly simple, the franchise has a surprisingly large expanded universe. There have been Pac-Man TV shows for decades now, as well as comics and gaming spin-offs. A Pac-Man movie could easily sell tickets, with the yellow ghost muncher being just as recognizable as Mario.
5 Splatoon
Although it’s a more recent franchise, Nintendo’s Splatoon series would also make sense for a video game movie. Splatoon has been a huge hit since its 2015 debut, with the series managing to rise above the failing Wii U console that it appeared on. The lore of Splatoon is incredibly deep, with the action-packed shooter actually taking place in a post-apocalyptic aquatic world. Splatoon has mass appeal, and with Nintendo still releasing games in the franchise on a regular basis, it has proven to be a continued success. While Splatoon may not be as popular as Mario, a video game adaptation could bring it up to Mario‘s level.
4 Animal Crossing
Nintendo’s life-simulating series Animal Crossing has always been big, but it recently garnered a surge in popularity with the release of its most recent entry, Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Animal Crossing‘s sandbox world has the potential to tell all kinds of stories, featuring many of the beloved villagers from the video game series. Animal Crossing has already been adapted into a 2006 anime film, proving that the series works as a movie. Animal Crossing is now bigger than ever, meaning that Nintendo needs to get on making a movie quickly.
3 Star Fox
Star Fox is another major Nintendo series, and while it has the same target demographic as The Super Mario Bros. Movie, it is unique enough that it would stand out in its field. Star Fox is an intergalactic space drama centering on a group of pilots that are tasked with taking down a dangerous scientist. The scale of Star Fox is massive, with it easily having enough content to get sequels of its own. Star Fox even has a 2016 anime short film, with it acting as the perfect proof of concept for a full-length feature film.
2 Mega Man
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A Mega Man movie has been in talks, and while nothing has come to fruition yet, The Super Mario Bros. Movie might revitalize the concept. Capcom’s action platformer has been featured in several TV shows and comics of its own, proving that it has appeal across a variety of genres. Netflix is currently developing a live-action Mega Man movie (per The Verge), and while that is neat, it’s not really what fans want. An animated movie would be the perfect way to capture the spirit of Mega Man, and it just may happen after the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
1 Detective Pikachu 2
Despite the critical and commercial success of the original 2019 film, Detective Pikachu 2 still hasn’t happened. The sequel has been in development hell for a while, with not much news coming out about the film for several years. However, Deadline reported that the film was finally moving forward in March 2023, and the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie may be just the incentive the film needs to finally get made.
Sources: The Verge, Deadline
