{"id":1907652,"date":"2026-04-28T17:01:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T14:01:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1907652"},"modified":"2026-04-28T17:01:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T14:01:41","slug":"as-rumours-of-a-live-action-metroid-movie-swirl-nintendo-and-illumination-set-a-mysterious-new-animated-event-film-for-april-2028","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1907652","title":{"rendered":"As rumours of a live-action Metroid movie swirl, Nintendo and Illumination set a mysterious new animated &#8220;event film&#8221; for April 2028"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/movies\/the-super-mario-galaxy-movie-2026\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      The Super Mario Galaxy Movie<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">As rumours of a live-action Metroid movie swirl, Nintendo and Illumination set a mysterious new animated &#8220;event film&#8221; for April 2028<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Ridley interesting.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Samus-Aran-x-Super-Mario-Galaxy-Movie-blue-background.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Samus Aran on The Super Mario Galaxy Movie blue blurred background\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"Samus-Aran-x-Super-Mario-Galaxy-Movie-blue-background.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eurogamer\/Nintendo\/Universal<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/fran-j-ruiz-author.png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"fran-j-ruiz-author.png\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/fran-ruiz\">Fran Ruiz<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-04-28T17:01:41+00:00\">April 28, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/metroid-movie-rights-rumours-new-illumination-project-2028-date?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          2 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"326ec37e-f6e2-4d34-83f3-a63d2da329c8\" data-name=\"Donkey Kong Bananza\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Donkey Kong Bananza\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Donkey Kong Bananza\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Donkey Kong Bananza\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Donkey Kong Bananza\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Donkey Kong Bananza\" title=\"Follow Donkey Kong Bananza\"><br \/>\n  Follow Donkey Kong Bananza<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/super-mario-galaxy-movie-highest-grossing-film-of-2026\">Super Mario Galaxy Movie has been a massive success<\/a> in spite of its so-so critical reception, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/legend-of-zelda-live-action-film-link-outfit\">live-action Legend of Zelda adaptation<\/a> is making good progress. But if a succession of recent reports are to be believed, there&#8217;s a busy few years ahead in the world of Nintendo films, with Universal and Illumination seemingly set to release <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/wario64.bsky.social\/post\/3mkkrbwriz223\">a new animated movie in 2028<\/a>. That news comes amid suggestions a previously reported live-action Metroid might soon get the green light.<\/p>\n<p>First, that 2028 movie. Universal Pictures&#8217; Spanish release calendar has just revealed an &#8220;Untitled Illumination\/Nintendo Event Film&#8221; is scheduled for April 2028. This lines up with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/donkey-kong-film-copyright-registered-by-nintendo-as-gorillas-prominence-continues\">copyright filings made last year<\/a> suggesting an animated Donkey Kong spinoff movie was real and coming in 2028.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"primis_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"primis_video\">\n<p><span class=\"embed_placeholder\" data-type=\"targeting\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"message\">To see this content please enable targeting cookies.<\/span><br \/>\n<button class=\"optanon-show-settings link\"><br \/>\nManage cookie settings<\/button><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>Metroid Prime 4: Beyond trailer.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3OuSknrhAqE\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Mounting evidence that Donkey Kong is the next Nintendo character to hit movie screens follows <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MyTimeToShineH\/status\/2047709157575282847?s=20\">recent claims by industry insider MyTimeToShineHello<\/a> outlining a so-called &#8220;Nintendo Cinematic Universe&#8221;. This is reported to include a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/star-fox\">Star Fox<\/a> movie &#8211; perhaps with Glen Powell on board following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/glen-powel-voicing-fox-mccloud-starfox-in-super-mario-galaxy-movie\">his Super Mario Galaxy Movie cameo<\/a> &#8211; targeting a 2030 release, alongside films based on Kirby and even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/luigis-mansion\">Luigi&#8217;s Mansion<\/a>. Furthermore, they say a Super Smash Bros. adaptation may happen a few years from now.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>But what of Metroid? Last December, Hollywood insider V Scooper claimed <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/thevscooper\/status\/2002476600491905484?s=20\">Universal was into the idea of making a live-action sci-fi horror movie<\/a> with a more family-friendly tone, which totally sounds like the right approach for a live-action adaptation of Metroid if you ask me. Fast-forward to April 2026 and <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/thevscooper\/status\/2048085808695923040?s=20\">V Scooper is back with an update<\/a>, saying Sony Pictures (the studio behind The Legend of Zelda film) and Universal Pictures (Illumination&#8217;s Super Mario flicks) are fighting over the Metroid rights with live-action pitches. There&#8217;s also mention of a potential <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/pikmin\">Pikmin<\/a> movie Nintendo is keen on making, but it&#8217;s &#8220;been struggling to lock ideas for years&#8221; and might take a while to coalesce.<\/p>\n<p>While both insiders have landed several hits in the past regarding high-profile franchises, it must be noted they&#8217;ve also had misses. Then again, Hollywood studios are known for quickly picking up and dropping project ideas, especially when big franchises are involved; certain &#8220;leaks&#8221; are quite often real but based on outdated information. For now, take all this with a grain of salt until the established trades elaborate on what&#8217;s actually happening.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/super-mario-galaxy-movie-highest-grossing-film-of-2026\">Super Mario Galaxy Movie has been a massive success<\/a> in spite of its so-so critical reception, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/legend-of-zelda-live-action-film-link-outfit\">live-action Legend of Zelda adaptation<\/a> is making good progress. But if a succession of recent reports are to be believed, there&#8217;s a busy few years ahead in the world of Nintendo films, with Universal and Illumination seemingly set to release <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/wario64.bsky.social\/post\/3mkkrbwriz223\">a new animated movie in 2028<\/a>. That news comes amid suggestions a previously reported live-action Metroid might soon get the green light.<\/p>\n<p>First, that 2028 movie. Universal Pictures&#8217; Spanish release calendar has just revealed an &#8220;Untitled Illumination\/Nintendo Event Film&#8221; is scheduled for April 2028. This lines up with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/donkey-kong-film-copyright-registered-by-nintendo-as-gorillas-prominence-continues\">copyright filings made last year<\/a> suggesting an animated Donkey Kong spinoff movie was real and coming in 2028.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"primis_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"primis_video\">\n<p><span class=\"embed_placeholder\" data-type=\"targeting\"><br \/>\n<span class=\"message\">To see this content please enable targeting cookies.<\/span><br \/>\n<button class=\"optanon-show-settings link\"><br \/>\nManage cookie settings<\/button><\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>Metroid Prime 4: Beyond trailer.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3OuSknrhAqE\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Mounting evidence that Donkey Kong is the next Nintendo character to hit movie screens follows <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MyTimeToShineH\/status\/2047709157575282847?s=20\">recent claims by industry insider MyTimeToShineHello<\/a> outlining a so-called &#8220;Nintendo Cinematic Universe&#8221;. This is reported to include a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/star-fox\">Star Fox<\/a> movie &#8211; perhaps with Glen Powell on board following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/glen-powel-voicing-fox-mccloud-starfox-in-super-mario-galaxy-movie\">his Super Mario Galaxy Movie cameo<\/a> &#8211; targeting a 2030 release, alongside films based on Kirby and even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/luigis-mansion\">Luigi&#8217;s Mansion<\/a>. Furthermore, they say a Super Smash Bros. adaptation may happen a few years from now.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>But what of Metroid? Last December, Hollywood insider V Scooper claimed <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/thevscooper\/status\/2002476600491905484?s=20\">Universal was into the idea of making a live-action sci-fi horror movie<\/a> with a more family-friendly tone, which totally sounds like the right approach for a live-action adaptation of Metroid if you ask me. Fast-forward to April 2026 and <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/thevscooper\/status\/2048085808695923040?s=20\">V Scooper is back with an update<\/a>, saying Sony Pictures (the studio behind The Legend of Zelda film) and Universal Pictures (Illumination&#8217;s Super Mario flicks) are fighting over the Metroid rights with live-action pitches. There&#8217;s also mention of a potential <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/pikmin\">Pikmin<\/a> movie Nintendo is keen on making, but it&#8217;s &#8220;been struggling to lock ideas for years&#8221; and might take a while to coalesce.<\/p>\n<p>While both insiders have landed several hits in the past regarding high-profile franchises, it must be noted they&#8217;ve also had misses. Then again, Hollywood studios are known for quickly picking up and dropping project ideas, especially when big franchises are involved; certain &#8220;leaks&#8221; are quite often real but based on outdated information. For now, take all this with a grain of salt until the established trades elaborate on what&#8217;s actually happening.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News The Super Mario Galaxy Movie As rumours of a live-action Metroid movie swirl, Nintendo and Illumination set a mysterious new animated &#8220;event film&#8221; for April 2028 Ridley interesting. Image credit: Eurogamer\/Nintendo\/Universal News by Fran Ruiz Contributor Published on April 28, 2026 2 comments Follow Donkey Kong Bananza The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1907652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1907652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1907652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1907652\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1907652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1907652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1907652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}