The Super Mario Bros. Movie made a massive impression at the box office, setting up 10 Nintendo properties for their own potential movies along the way. The Super Mario Bros. Movie grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing films of all time. With such an incredible level of success, it seems inevitable that Nintendo will want to produce not only a sequel film but also expand its IP by producing movies about its other massive games and franchises.
Indeed, an update on Nintendo’s movie franchise plans suggests the company plans on doing just that. There are tons of popular Nintendo games from last few decades that would make great candidates for their own movies, which makes it difficult to decide which ones should come first. Luckily, The Super Mario Bros. Movie has already set up 10 potential Nintendo movies through its many Easter eggs, making it easier for fans to decipher Nintendo’s plans for its upcoming slate of movies.
10 Punch-Out
If Nintendo is going to end Disney and Pixar’s animated reign, Punch-Out could become a big part of it. Punch-Out is set up by The Super Mario Bros. Movie by Mario and Luigi’s visit to the Punch-Out Pizzeria, which is full of pictures of some of the game’s most iconic characters. Punch-Out was originally an arcade game before getting its NES adaptation in 1987. This game would make an interesting movie within Nintendo’s fictional realm, and it could easily fit in cameos from other Nintendo properties by making the characters fighters in the movie.
9 Kid Icarus
Kid Icarus is another Nintendo property set up during The Super Mario Bros. Movie, though it’s unclear if a potential Kid Icarus movie would be made before or after The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2, or indeed if it will be made at all. Kid Icarus clearly exists in The Super Mario Bros. Movie universe, however, because Mario is shown playing it in his room during the film. Mario plays this iconic Nintendo game on his NES, one of Nintendo’s most famous consoles. This pointed reference to Kid Icarus could foreshadow a future film for the classic game, or at least the integration of some of its characters.
8 Yoshi
The character of Yoshi is easily one of the most exciting teases in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Yoshi is teased during The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s post-credits scene when a lone Yoshi egg is shown in the Brooklyn sewers that led Mario into the other world. Yoshi is one of the most iconic characters in Nintendo’s catalog, and it seems inevitable that he will get his own spinoff at some point. Even if not though, he has definitely been set up for The Super Mario Bros. Movie‘s sequel.
7 Starfox
Starfox is also proven to exist in The Super Mario Bros. Movies‘s world as there is a model of the Starfox Arwing ship on top of the TV in Mario’s room during the movie. Starfox, the iconic third-person rail shooter game from Nintendo, could also make a great spinoff in the Super Mario universe. Fox McCloud could make for an interesting protagonist if a movie or series were to emerge, and the intergalactic space travel premise would have no problems fitting into today’s media landscape.
6 Duck Hunt
The Duck Hunt reference in The Super Mario Bros. Movie is thickly veiled, but its presence speaks to the possibility of this memorable game joining Nintendo’s roster of future movies or series. The reference comes when Mario and Luigi are walking through Brooklyn and a sign for a French restaurant appears with the words “Chasse Au Canard” on it, which roughly translates to Duck Hunt in English. The elusive nature of this Easter egg could indicate that Duck Hunt is less likely than other games to be made into a movie, but its presence keeps the possibility open.
5 Luigi’s Mansion
The giveaway for Luigi’s Mansion existing in The Super Mario Bros. Movie‘s universe comes in the form of King Boo’s appearance at Peach and Bowser’s wedding. King Boo and Luigi being present in the film seems to suggest there is a good possibility that Luigi’s Mansion will get some sort of adaptation, whether in its own movie or in a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Luigi’s Mansion is a strong option for a spinoff film since Luigi is already a main character in Nintendo’s new universe. It could also serve as a good setting for the next Mario and Luigi movie, whatever that may be.
4 Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong is perhaps the Nintendo property with the best shot at getting a spinoff. The Donkey Kong world is explored the most in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and with a lot of characters from the games already being introduced, it would be relatively easy to put together a Donkey Kong Country movie. Not only that, but it’s one of the richest world’s in Nintendo’s catalog, meaning it has plenty of options in terms of characters and stories. Donkey Kong could also be used to set up a movie for Diddy Kong, another of Nintendo’s most popular characters.
3 F-Zero
Another game set up by Mario’s room during The Super Mario Bros. Movie is F-Zero, which Mario has a poster of hanging in his bedroom. F-Zero is one of the most popular Nintendo games of all-time, as well as a classic of the racing game genre. Via the role of Captain Falcon (a major F-Zero character) in the Super Smash Bros. games, these franchises have overlapped before, and could do so again in movie form. If so, the racers from F-Zero could get their own movie and perhaps even meet Mario and company.
2 Pikmin
Similar to F-Zero and Duck Hunt, Pikmin is very subtly referenced in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. When Mario and Luigi go to repair a toilet in someone’s apartment, there’s a small statue of a Pikmin sitting in their living room. Pikmin is a puzzle-based game that is probably more likely to be included in another game’s spinoff than to get its own. However, the core premise of an astronaut herding plant-like aliens on a distant planet does possess strong storytelling potential.
1 Ice Climber
Ice Climber is another game featured in the Nintendo gold mine that is Mario’s room in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The Ice Climber poster is easy to miss, especially because it has a picture of a polar bear in sunglasses on it rather than saying Ice Climber, but it’s a clear reference to the classic Nintendo game. Ice Climber would be a fun property to include in a Mario movie, or it could make for a fun little spinoff film. Either way, there’s a good chance of Ice Climber appearing in Nintendo’s upcoming movie barrage.
