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Donkey Kong movie starring Seth Rogen could be coming after Super Mario film

It seems likely that a Donkey Kong movie could be in production at Universal Studios' studio Illumination after the upcoming Super Mario Bros. movie.

TJ Denzer

November 3, 2021 8:30 AM

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For better or for worse, the new Super Mario Bros. movie is coming and it’s got a lot of talented (if not arguably miscast) stars behind it. One that seemed like a good match the more we thought about it was Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, and Nintendo and Universal Studios might think so too. Word is going around that Illumination (Universal’s animation studio working on the Mario film) has already been greenlit for and put into production a Donkey Kong movie that will keep Seth Rogen in the role.

This report comes from film and media outlet Giant Freaking Robot, which has had exclusives and inside tracks on film rumors in the past. According to Giant Freaking Robot, Nintendo and Universal are ready for Illumination to continue work films in the Nintendo universe after the upcoming 2022 Super Mario Bros. film starring Chris Pratt and Charlie Day as Mario and Luigi respectively. Seth Rogen is currently cast as Donkey Kong in that same film and would reprise his role in the following movie.

Even if it turns out to be true and a Rogen-led Donkey Kong movie is in production, it’s likely a long way off because the current schedule for the upcoming Super Mario Bros. movie has it launching in holiday 2022. Even so, Nintendo has expressed multiple times that it wants to continue to expand its universe past video games and the full push into film makes sense. Heck, a Rogen-led movie focused on Donkey Kong even sounds pretty fun.

Regardless, the launch of the Super Mario Bros. movie in late 2022 could have some affect on further plans for Nintendo-based films. We’ll see how that turns out. Stay tuned for further updates on the Mario Bros. movie and a possible Donkey Kong film right here at Shacknews.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.