There were a few eyebrows raised at the casting of Nintendo’s new animated Super Mario Bros.. movie earlier this month, with the choice of Chris Pratt as Mario coming under some heavy fire from the internet. However one of the better received names on the list was Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, and that may be a good thing as it looks like the character is getting his own spin-off movie with Rogen voicing the barrel throwing ape. According to the report by Giant Freakin Robot, Fred Armisen will also be reprising his Cranky Kong role in the Illumination production.
While he didn’t find fame as a hero in his own right, Donkey Kong first appeared as the villain in 1981’s Donkey Kong arcade game, which introduced the world to Mario, the intrepid plumber who tried to avoid Kong’s attempts to knock him off platforms with a series of rolling barrels as he made his way to save the princess. In 1994, Donkey Kong was given an overhaul with Donkey Kong Country, a classic scrolling platformer in which players took control of Kong as he collected items and attempted to reach the end of levels without being killed off by various enemies. Over the years since, Nintendo have developed numerous sequels, which in turn have brought a whole Kong family, an enemy called the Kremlings and the generally viewed version of Donkey Kong that has since appeared in the likes of Mario Kart, an animated series and many items of merchandising.
While news of the Donkey Kong movie is currently still classified as a rumor, it does seem to fit with the larger plan of Nintendo as they continue to expand their Super Nintendo World in Universal Studios Japan, and following up the Super Mario Bros. with an already popular character as a spin-off would be a safe bet for both the gaming giant and Illumination, who have been responsible for the Despicable Me and Minions movies among other hits. There is a strong belief that if the movie is going ahead, then it will probably be teased in a post credit scene of Super Mario Bros. in the same way Paramount did with Sonic the Hedgehog by introducing Tails in the closing scene and heralding the next movie in the franchise.
Of course, Donkey Kong Country is a pretty solid place to start for an big screen outing based on Kong, as not only does it have the basis of a story, but also brought with it Diddy Kong, one of the only video game character sidekicks in history that didn’t managed to annoy everyone who played the game. In short, there is nothing to suggest that the news of this Donkey Kong movie is not going to be confirmed sometime soon by Nintendo, as there is a lot of scope for where the character could be taken, and that means a lot of potential for sequels and new games to follow if the movie proves to be a hit. This news originated at Giant Freakin Robot.
Source: movieweb.com