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Nintendo confirms Mario movie

From the studio behind Minions.

Nintendo has confirmed it is working on a Mario movie with Illumination Entertainment, the animation studio behind Minions and Despicable Me.

Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto is listed as a co-producer on the film, alongside Illumination boss and Minions creator Chris Meledandri.

There's no word yet on a release date.

Nintendo has also not yet confirmed who will portray Mario, although it's hard to imagine anyone other than long-time Mario voice actor Charles Martinet voicing the moustachioed mascot.

The announcement confirms an earlier Wall St Journal report from November last year when both Nintendo and Illumination were poised to sign on the dotted line.

Illumination is owned by Universal, with which Nintendo has already inked a deal to open a Nintendo Land in three Universal Studios theme parks, with rides featuring franchises such as Donkey Kong and Mario Kart currently being built.

The first of these theme park areas is expected to open at Universal Studios Osaka, in time for Japan to host the 2020 Olympic Games.