Nintendo revealed at least four movies on its official movie release calendar as part of a recent investor presentation. After dominating the video game space since the late 1980s, the Japanese gaming giant has gotten the taste for Hollywood, bringing some of its biggest IP to the big screen. This kicked off in 2023 with the release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie and will continue in 2026 with the hotly anticipated Mario Movie sequel.
Nintendo's movie-making plans do not stop there, however. During the company's Q2 FY 2026 results, Nintendo pulled the curtain back on what could be considered its first official movie release calendar, detailing plans for at least four cinematic video game adaptations on the cards for the Switch 2 maker.
Breaking down the company's 'Movies and Videos' strategy, the company revealed four movie posters, two with titles and dates attached, and another two with nothing more than a question mark emblazoned upon them.
Regarding the announcement, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa remarked, "We are continuing to prepare for the ongoing release of movies in the future," with the hope of achieving a "consistent release cadence" of Nintendo-based films.
The four posters came with a curiously placed ellipsis, potentially hinting that these four upcoming films are just the beginning of a greater cinematic push from the video game titan.
The 4 Movies on Nintendo's Movie Release Calendar
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
The most imminent of Nintendo's theatrical fare is The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. This animated sequel from Illumination Entertainment will follow up on the $1 billion success of the first Mario Bros. movie, marking the beginning of this new era of Nintendo licensing its IP for the big screen.
Set to triple-jump its way into theaters on April 3, 2026, the new animated adventure will see Chris Pratt's Mario take to the cosmos, adapting elements of the acclaimed star-faring Super Mario Galaxy line of games. Details about the film are still scarce, but an alleged plot synopsis from the 2026 blockbuster hints at new characters like Yoshi, Wario, and Bowser Jr. making an appearance.
The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda is the only other officially announced movie coming from Nintendo as of this writing. Zelda will be the first live-action Nintendo movie of this modern era. The film is set to be directed by Wes Ball, the filmmaker behind Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, with Benjamin Evan Ainsworth and Bo Bragason playing series mainstays Link and Zelda.
The Legend of Zelda will be produced by Sony Pictures, bringing Nintendo's beloved series of fantasy adventures to life on the silver screen for the first time. The film will tell the tale of a young hero forced to venture across the land after the emergence of a dangerous, ancient evil. The Zelda movie is scheduled for release on May 7, 2027.
Untitled Nintendo Movie 1
Interestingly, two mystery movies were included on Nintendo's new movie calendar graphic. The first of which is assumed to be the unannounced Donkey Kong spin-off movie from the Mario Movie team at Illumination. Rumors of a Donkey Kong movie starring Seth Rogan as the titular tie-wearing ape date back to before the first Mario Movie's release.
These reports have ramped up in recent months, however, after a copyright filing was discovered for something called "Untitled Donkey Kong Motion Picture." While nothing has been officially announced on the DK front as of yet, given the evidence, one can assume that the King of Swing is likely to get his own solo movie sometime soon.
Untitled Nintendo Movie 2
The second of these two mystery movies really could be any number of things—a potential third Mario Bros. film, a Luigi's Mansion project, Kirby. However, there is one name that has been circling the rumor mill as of late. A Metroid movie adaptation was recently reported to be in development at Nintendo, but no concrete details on the project have been made public.
It is unclear whether this will be live-action or animated, and no studio names have been attached to the project either. However, with big-name Nintendo IPs like Mario and Zelda getting the Hollywood limelight, Metroid could fill an interesting void for the gaming giant, appealing perhaps to a more mature audience than the rest of its theatrical fare.
