Nintendo And Universal Might Be Teaming Up To Make A New Donkey Kong Film

A new copyright filing suggests we might be seeing a Donkey Kong movie in the future.

After the massive success of the Super Mario Bros. movie, it’s looking like Nintendo and Universal are gearing up to make some spin offs.

Nintendo Everything has reported that a new copyright filing has been spotted, listing an ‘Untitled Kong Project: Motion Picture’. The date of recordation is June 6th 2025, with two dates listed as the executuion: May 9th and May 17th 2025. Which could mean nothing.

While this doesn’t confirm a film is on the way, the ‘motion picture’ in the listing does certainly raise an eyebrow (or two).

Of course, this isn’t the only movie Nintendo has in production at the moment. A second Super Mario Bros. film is schelued to release April 3rd 2026. A Legend of Zelda live-action movie has also been scheduled to release on May 7th 2027.

The recent Donkey Kong focus is also not entirely surprising. Just last year, Donkey Kong received its own ride at Universal World Japan. Nintendo has also been focusing more on the character’s IP. Just last year they re-released the classic Nintendo 64 game Donkey Kong Country for the Nintendo Switch.

Nintendo are also releasing Donkey Kong Bananza, an entirely new game for the Nintendo Switch 2 later this week. This will be the second major title for the new console following Mario Kart World. The game is going back to the series roots, and will be the first 3D platformer since Donkey Kong 64.

Now, to play devil’s advocate, a copyright trademark doesn’t always indicate a project is moving ahead. Both company’s could decide to scrap the project, or simply sit on the copyright for good.

Is it worth getting excited about a Donkey Kong movie? I wouldn’t say it’s worth going bananas for just yet. However, with the recent games that have come out, there’s no denying it’s a good time to be a fan of the character.

You can catch a trailer for Donkey Kong Bonanza, releasing July 17 below.