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Oliver Brandt is a Contributing Pop Culture Writer based in Tasmania, Australia. Their focus is reporting on video games, film, and TV. They have extensive knowledge of video game history and communities both in Australia and abroad, animated films and television shows, and international cinema. Oliver joined Newsweek in 2024 and has previously worked at Men’s Journal, Parade, and more. They are a graduate of Curtin University. You can get in touch with Oliver by emailing o.brandt@newsweek.com. You can find them on X and Bluesky @chocobalt. Languages: English.
Contributing Pop Culture Writer
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A Donkey Kong movie looks like it’s currently in the works, if a new copyright filing in the US is to be believed, in what’s expected to be a follow-up to The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
As reported by Vooks, Nintendo and Universal have filed with the US Copyright Office for a project called “Untitled Donkey Kong Project; Motion picture,” which as the name suggests seems to be a major motion picture based on Donkey Kong. The joint filing lists Nintendo Studios LLC and Universal Pictures as parties to the filing, similarly to the filing of copyrights for The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Nintendo showed the world that it was more than just a video game juggernaut with the release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which was co-produced by Nintendo and Universal Pictures subsidiary Illumination, the latter of which is best known for Despicable Me and Minions. The animated film was a box office success, grossing over a billion dollars worldwide and earning decent reviews from critics and viewers.
Alongside Mario, Luigi, Peach, and other Mario universe mainstays, the film also featured Donkey Kong, voiced by Seth Rogan, as well as a host of other Kongs and creatures from the Donkey Kong universe. In 2023 Rogan suggested he’d be open to coming back for a spinoff film, citing 1994’s Donkey Kong Country as a game that had “a lot of opportunity” for a film storyline.
The copyright filing comes in the same week as the launch of the next big Donkey Kong game, titled Donkey Kong Bananza. Bonanza is the first new game in the Donkey Kong series in over a decade, and the first 3D platformer in the franchise since 1999’s Donkey Kong 64. The new game has a big focus on destructible environments, with DK able to smash his way through almost any part of the environment.
Donkey Kong Bananza is set to be released on the Nintendo Switch 2 on July 17, 2025.
