Nintendo's next Mario movie gets official 2028 release date in leaked schedule

Follow Followed Like Thread Link copied to clipboard Add us on By Michael McWhertor Published Apr 28, 2026, 11:37 AM EDT News Illumination and Nintendo have an unannounced follow-up to The Super Mario Galaxy Movie in the works { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": "1", "name": "Home", "item": "https://www.polygon.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position":"2", "name": "News", "item": "https://www.polygon.com/news/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position":"3", "name": "Nintendo has a mystery 2028 movie on the release calendar", "item": "https://www.polygon.com/nintendo-illumination-2028-movie-release-date-donkey-kong-mario-sequel/" } ] } Related The Zelda movie has found its Zelda and Link 7 movie roles Michael Jackson wanted to play (but thankfully didn’t) Quentin Tarantino's divisive western is getting a surprising sequel Nintendo has a mystery 2028 movie on the release calendar Image: Nintendo, Illumination/Universal Pictures Sign in to your Polygon.com account Nintendo and Illumination have made more than $2 billion at the box office with The Super Mario Bros. Movie and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, so a third collaboration between the two entertainment giants was inevitable. Now, thanks to a release schedule from Universal Pictures, we have a sense of when Nintendo and Illumination's next movie will arrive. According to Universal Pictures International Spain, via ResetEra, a new Untitled Illumination/Nintendo Event Film is scheduled to hit movie theaters on April 12, 2028. That's two years after the release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which sets up a third adventure for Mario, Luigi, Peach, and new characters introduced to the Mario Cinematic Universe. Nintendo and Illumination haven't officially announced a third Super Mario movie, though Galaxy hints at further interplanetary exploits for the Mushroom Kingdom crew. But the next project from Nintendo and Illumination may not necessarily star Mario. It might star Donkey Kong instead. In 2025, Nintendo Studios and Universal Pictures registered a copyright for an Untitled Donkey Kong Project motion picture. Donkey Kong was a major component of 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie and made only a brief cameo in its sequel. Reports that Seth Rogen would reprise his role as Donkey Kong in a stand-alone movie go back as far as 2021. In a 2023 interview with Collider, Rogen seemed open to voicing Donkey Kong in further animated adventures. "There's a lot of opportunity there," Rogen said. "I think the family unit of the Kongs seems to be — and if the Fast and Furious films have taught us anything, it’s that it's all about family." Later, in a behind-the-scenes interview with the actor, Rogen said, "It’s a fun character, it’s a fun world. I would be thrilled to see Donkey Kong go on more adventures." He just had one request: "Maybe give him some pants this time." window.adsNinja = window.adsNinja || {}; window.adsNinja.queue = window.adsNinja.queue || []; window.adsNinja.queue.push(function(){ var functionToRun = function(){ var fallbackContent = `<button class="prem-player-close">x</button> <video class='adsninja-video-player' id='emaki_video-06bb621f8b894383' poster='https://static0.polygonimages.com/wordpress/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/sharedimages/2026/02/the-super-mario-galaxy-movie.jpg?fit=crop&w=1024&h=576' controls > <source…

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