Video game movies have come a long way in recent years, with The Super Mario Bros. Movie, A Minecraft Movie, and Sonic the Hedgehog among the franchises finding huge success. Meanwhile, on television, we've been treated to The Last of Us and Fallout.
There's still the odd dud like Borderlands and Until Dawn, but with superhero movies seemingly on the decline, studios are looking to capitalise on this new era for video game adaptations (both on the big and small screens).
In 2021, we learned that Netflix was developing a live-action Pokémon TV series, along with a possible feature. Joe Henderson (Lucifer) was attached to write and executive-produce the TV series at the time, and fans were excited for the streamer's plans coming off the back of 2019's Detective Pikachu.
We've had sporadic updates since then, with it looking like the project might have fallen by the wayside. Well, as we first reported on GameFragger.com, scooper @MyTimeToShineH brings an update our way today, revealing that the live-action Pokémon TV series remains in "active development," with news likely to be shared next year.
Nintendo is keeping busy, as The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is set to be released on April 3, 2026. There's been chatter about a possible Donkey Kong spin-off since the first movie hit theaters in 2023, and Daniel Richtman is reporting that "The Donkey Kong movie is already in active [development] at Universal."
Seth Rogen lent his voice to Donkey Kong in The Super Mario Bros. Movie and would likely return for this spin-off. Talking about his hopes for that a couple of years ago, The Studio star said, "Donkey Kong Country, I really did love that game. And it's funny looking back on it because its look is not great by today's standards."
"But at the time, it was mind-blowing, the movement and how fast it was. It felt like a huge leap," Rogen continued. "I think there's probably more from Donkey Kong Country to mine one day."
Donkey Kong debuted in 1981 as an arcade game by Nintendo, designed by Shigeru Miyamoto. It introduced Mario (originally Jumpman) and Donkey Kong, a gorilla who kidnaps Pauline. Several sequels followed, while this year saw the release of the critically acclaimed Donkey Kong Bananza on Nintendo Switch 2.
Pokémon began in 1996 with Pokémon Red and Green/Blue for the Game Boy, developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo. Created by Satoshi Tajiri, it features creatures called Pokémon, which players catch and train. The franchise expanded with trading cards, an anime series, movies, and numerous video game sequels.
Stay tuned for updates on both projects as we have them. If you missed it, you can watch the first teaser trailer for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie below.