Seth Rogen is set to reprise his voice role of Donkey Kong in a solo movie after he appears as a side character in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. big screen adaptation. Donkey Kong will be the next iconic Nintendo character to headline his own film after Mario, Giant Freakin Robot is reporting.
The Donkey Kong solo movie is currently in development at Illumination, the animation studio that has gained notoriety for distributing the Despicable Me and Minions series. The company is also working on the Super Mario Bros. film, which will feature Chris Pratt as the voice of Mario. The arcade game’s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, who holds a key role in the big screen adaptation’s development, has revealed that Illumination will release the film on December 21, 2022.
In addition to Pratt and Rogen, the untitled Super Mario Bros. movie will also star Charlie Day in the role of Luigi. They’ll be joined by Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach, Jack Black as Bowser and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad.
The supporting cast will also include Kevin Michael Richardson as the voice of Kamek, while Fred Armisen will voice Cranky Kong and Sebastian Maniscalco has signed on to play Foreman Spike. Long-time Mario voice artist Charles Martinet will have a number of featured cameos in the animated movie.
While the Super Mario Bros. film was originally announced in 2018, the solo Donkey Kong film was just recently announced. So although Rogen, as well as Armisen, have signed on to reprise their roles in the series’ next big screen adaptation, it’s not yet known if any of their Super Mario Bros. co-stars will be joining them in the spin-off.
Donkey Kong first appeared with Mario in the Donkey Kong arcade game, that was released in 1981. That game presented the title character as a villain. However, the franchise got a major reboot in 1994 with Donkey Kong Country.
The mid-1990s Super Nintendo game and its sequels introduced players to an entire Kong family, as well as their enemies, the Kremlings.
Those games have served as the inspiration for most of Donkey Kong’s interpretations in other media, including an animated series.
It’s not yet known what the Donkey Kong film will focus on.