Nintendo and
Universal Pictures will distribute the film worldwide.
The Wall Street Journal and
The Hollywood Reporter both reported in November 2017 that Illumination Entertainment was "close to an agreement" with
Nintendo to produce an animated film based on
Super Mario Bros., with talks reportedly ongoing for more than a year. At the time of the report, a person with knowledge of the discussions said that the possible agreement could allow Illumination Entertainment to make multiple films based on the
franchise, but only one film is currently planned. The report also noted at the time that Illumination Entertainment's Mac Guff studio in Paris would animate the film, and that it was in the early stages of development.