Time to stock up on extra bananas, a Donkey Kong movie appears to be in the works. A copyright filing by Nintendo and Universal Pictures indicates that a feature film centering on the iconic video game ape is happening. The filing recorded on June 6th 2025, and executed in late May, is officially classified as a motion picture, “Untitled Donkey Kong Project.”
There are no creative details, but this is hardly surprising. Donkey Kong is about to get a huge push by Nintendo. The latest game in the franchise, Donkey Kong Bananza, is a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive arriving on July 17th. The character also featured heavily in 2023’s $1.3B smash hit, The Super Mario Bros. Movie and will likely return for next year’s sequel. Seth Rogen voiced Donkey Kong, and has expressed interest in doing more.
Nintendo is making big moves on the big screen, using their popular video game mascots. A Legend of Zelda movie, directed by Wes Ball, arrives in May 2027. There have also been rumors of a Metroid film.
This is speculation on my part, but I’d assume Nintendo will turn to Illumination to once again handle the animation. Why fix what isn’t broken?
