Even before The Super Mario Bros. Movie had released a trailer there was a rumor that Donkey Kong would follow suit with a spinoff. Seth Rogen voices the fan-favorite Nintendo ape in the movie and fans are already hoping that the character can carry his own film. Speaking with ComicBook.com’s Brandon Davis in an interview for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Rogen confirmed interest in a Donkey Kong spinoff, specifically noting fan interest as well. He revealed, “It would be fun. I honestly had a great time doing it and I think like it’s a big world, gigantic, and it seems to be a thing that people are excited to see.”
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As Nintendo fans are well aware, Donkey Kong has just as much lore around him as Mario. Beyond the classic game that featured both DK AND Mario, the character has lead the Donkey Kong Country trilogy on the SNES as well as titles like Donkey Kong 64, Donkey Kong Country Returns, and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Across all of them the Kong family and their enemies have expanded, meaning there’s just as much story to mine there as the Mushroom Kingdom offers. Though there are far and away fewer games starring the big ape when compared to the plumber, their shared history is what helped Rogen get into his character.
“I think in the film and in the game I think all you really know about Donkey Kong is that he throws barrels and he does not like Mario very much.” Rogen revealed. “That’s honestly kind of what I ran with was this idea that he hates Mario, that they are kind have like an adversarial relationship, that he’s annoyed by him, that he doesn’t want to be stuck with him, that he wishes he was on this adventure without him.To me that was, that was funny and that was kind of the root of the character and it was kind of born of the mythology of the games.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie also stars Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) as Mario, Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit) as Princess Peach, Keegan-Michael Key (The Lion King) as Toad, and Jack Black (the Jumanji films) as Bowser. The cast also features Fred Armisen (Saturday Night Live) as Cranky Kong, Kevin Michael Richardson (American Dad!, Family Guy) as Kamek, and Sebastian Maniscalco (Green Book) as Spike. The Super Mario Bros. Movie opens only in theaters April 5th.
