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Donkey Kong is finally getting his own movie adaptation, Nintendo copyright filing suggests
There's no business like monkey business.
Nintendo
- Alex Raisbeck
Published: Monday, 14 July 2025 at 2:01 pm
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An upcoming Donkey Kong movie appears to have been given the go-ahead, according to a recent copyright filing.
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Three decades after the critical and commercial flop that was the original Super Mario Bros Movie, Nintendo re-entered the showbiz market with a markedly better attempt.
2023's animated The Super Mario Bros Movie proved a hit, raking in over $1.3 billion at the box office.
Not resting on its laurels, Nintendo is itching to capitalise on this success, with an already-announced Legend of Zelda adaptation, and now, a long-rumoured potential Donkey Kong film.
In May 2025, Nintendo Studios and Universal Pictures filed copyright information, declaring themselves co-producers of an as yet untitled Donkey Kong motion picture.
The filing is for a motion picture listed as 'Untitled Donkey Kong Project'. U.S. Copyright Office
Donkey Kong, who was voiced by Seth Rogen in Mario's 2023 return to the big screen, has proven to be one of the film's most popular characters, sparking speculation that he was due his own time to shine.
This would represent a larger push from Nintendo to bring Donkey Kong back into the spotlight.
Later this month, the release of Donkey Kong Bananza will represent his first mainline solo title since 2014's Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
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The character has also received a new design for Bananza and last month's Mario Kart World, bringing him more in line with his original design, and perhaps more notably, with his design in the Super Mario Bros Movie.
Nintendo has even placed him front and centre at its Super Nintendo World theme parks in Japan and the US, with Donkey Kong World marking the parks' first major expansion.
As for details on the film itself, we still have almost nothing to go on but would assume that it would be produced by Universal subsidiary Illumination, the studio which produced 2023's Mario film and is set to produce its 2026 sequel.
Furthermore, it seems fairly likely that Rogen would reprise his role as the eponymous ape, with the film tying in with the mainline Mario movies.
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Authors
Alex RaisbeckGaming writer
Alex Raisbeck is a Gaming Writer at Radio Times, covering everything from AAA giants to indie gems. Alex has written for VideoGamer, GamesRadar+, PC Gamer, PCGamesN and more.
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