Nintendo plans to maintain a steady rollout of new films following the releases of Super Mario Galaxy and The Legend of Zelda

Following the release of Nintendo’s second-quarter financial results, company president Shuntaro Furukawa shared details about Nintendo’s current strategy and organizational approach to film and video projects based on its intellectual properties.

Furukawa emphasized that rather than simply licensing its IPs to film studios, Nintendo remains “deeply involved” in every stage of movie production — from planning and development through to completion.

“For The Super Mario Bros. Movie and the upcoming Super Mario Galaxy Movie, our own Shigeru Miyamoto has served as co-producer alongside Chris Meledandri of Illumination,” Furukawa explained. “For the live-action adaptation of The Legend of Zelda, Miyamoto is co-producing with Avi Arad of Arad Productions Inc. and has been closely involved since the earliest planning phases.”

He also highlighted the establishment of Nintendo Pictures in 2022, the in-house animation studio behind the Pikmin short Close to You, as well as the recent launch of Nintendo Stars, a subsidiary created to explore “new ways to enjoy our characters through licensing and secondary-use initiatives.”

Furukawa went on to present a slide titled “Building a Framework for a Consistent Release Cadence,” which featured Nintendo’s confirmed movie timeline — The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023), The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026), and The Legend of Zelda (2027) — alongside two placeholders, hinting at additional films in development.

Nintendo plans to maintain a steady release schedule for its upcoming film projects. Furukawa stated that the company is “continuing to prepare for the ongoing release of movies in the future,” suggesting that the three-year gap between the two Mario films may not be repeated.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie was first teased during September’s Nintendo Direct, confirming its release for April 2026. Reports suggest that the first full trailer will debut alongside Wicked for Good, which hits theaters on November 21, indicating an online release beforehand.

Meanwhile, the live-action Legend of Zelda film is scheduled for release on May 7, 2027, with Wes Ball (The Maze Runner trilogy, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) directing. The movie will star Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Link and Bo Bragason as Zelda. Ball described his vision for the project as being inspired by Studio Ghibli co-founder and Spirited Away director Hayao Miyazaki.