According to the Wall Street Journal, we are but a jump over a walking mushroom away from an animated Mario Bros. movie courtesy of a deal in the works between Nintendo and Universal’s Illumination Entertainment, known for such fare as Despicable Me, Minions, Secret Life of Pets and Sing. The film is in the early stages of development and not likely to be released for a few years, but the agreement has the potential to allow for multiple films and follows an agreement to install Mario Bros.-themed attractions at the Universal Studios theme parks.
This is of course not the first attempt to make a Mario and Luigi movie. In 1993, Super Mario Bros., in which we discover the brothers’ last name is Mario, meaning Mario’s name is Mario Mario, was released to a big “GAME OVER” screen both critically and commercially. The live-action film starred Bob Hoskins as Mario (Tom Hanks was originally signed on, but the studio felt Hoskins was more bankable), John Leguizamo as Luigi and Dennis Hopper as King Koopa. In an interview with The Guardian, Hoskins once answered three separate questions as follows:
What is the worst job you’ve done?
Super Mario Brothers.What has been your biggest disappointment?
Super Mario Brothers.If you could edit your past, what would you change?
I wouldn’t do Super Mario Brothers.
The new animated iteration doesn’t exactly have big work boots to fill.
