Rumour: Mamma Mia! Sony May Be Making a Super Mario Movie

Let's-a-go

by Sammy Barker Fri 12th Dec 2014

You won’t be seeing Super Mario on your PlayStation 4 anytime soon, but according to Buzzfeed, the pudgy plumber may be plotting a return to the silver screen – and it sounds like Sony’s engineering the move. A slew of leaked details filtering out of Sony Pictures suggest that the film factory has struck a deal with the Kyoto company to create a new animated flick based upon the Italian stallion. Producer Avi Arad appeared to confirm the tidbit in a hacked message to studio chief Amy Pascal, which included photos of him with creator Shigeru Miyamoto and CEO Satoru Iwata.

British actor Bob Hoskins famously portrayed the protagonist in the atrocious live action movie, Super Mario Bros. – but it sounds like this will be a very different beast, with Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs team Sony Pictures Animation presumably bringing the property to life. That’s if it’s even in production anymore at all, as these emails date back to October, and anyone that’s followed the Uncharted Movie saga over the years will know just how tough it is to get these projects off the ground. There’s no word of any personnel attached to the picture yet, so that's not a good start.

To be honest, though, we reckon that the dungaree adorning hero is due another spell in the cinema, so we’d love to see this get made. We suppose with the Sony umbrella also including PlayStation, it would be a bit strange for the firm to back a competitor’s character, but these are separate entities within the organisation, and they’ve all got to earn a crust. Besides, it seems that Sony Pictures is pretty interested in the video game industry right now; a separate rumour from earlier in the year suggested that it’s lining up a flick about the console wars. Would watch.

[source buzzfeed.com, via kotaku.com, vg247.com]

As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He’s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.

1
Enobmah_Shards
Fri 12th Dec 2014

I dunno... The first movie about it sucked big time. I Don't know how well this will be handled...:/

2
Hero-of-WiiU
Sat 13th Dec 2014

There hasn't been any good films for Mario. To be honest, Mario and many other franchises would benefit over the short films like the Pikmin one.

3
eLarkos
Sat 13th Dec 2014

I'm very curious as to which direction they would take it in. The fact that it's Sony Pictures really means nothing.

4
Gamer83
Sat 13th Dec 2014

One Super Mario movie was enough.

5
Fandabidozi
Sat 13th Dec 2014

Is that a Ghoulie?

6
Kage_88
Sat 13th Dec 2014

I liked the Mario movie... Granted, I was five when I first saw it. Blind nostalgia FTW!

As for this... Well, I can easily see this being a comedy/adventure much like Disney's recent films. However, I can't see Mario's voice endear itself well to audiences. His helium yelps are fine in small doses... But for two hours? I dunno...

Also, there is the matter of Nintendo. How would its Japanese style of storytelling gel with the 'hip' American methodology? I think a Pixar-style narrative would be a good compromise - one that has universal themes, and isn't overtly 'western' or obsessed with pop-culture.

Apparently there's a Sonic film coming, too. It's the '90s all over again!

7
DerMeister
Sat 13th Dec 2014

I'd rather not. I love me some Mario, but I don't think he really translates to cinema, live action or CG.

Mario is too simplistic to really work. There isn't much story established in the universe, so the film will have to take liberties. Maybe an origin story type of deal could work, but I really wouldn't hold my breath. If I could imagine any Nintendo property getting a movie, it'd be Zelda or Metroid. Both have some form of lore, and in Zelda's case, you could make either a serious tale or fun for the family thing since the series has used both realish and cartoony art styles.

8
Cloud7794
Sat 13th Dec 2014

I don't really consider Nintendo anyone's competitor. Sure they're in the same industry, but it seems Nintendo is just an industry constant at the moment. Eventually most people buy a Nintendo console, just what other console will they get as well?

Would be cool to see this made though.