Nintendo and Universal Pictures seemingly pursuing Donkey Kong movie

Donkey Kong could be getting his own movie, based on a new filing.

Nintendo and Universal Pictures jointly filed a copyright for an untitled project based on the franchise. The listing doesn’t include any details, but it’s classified as a motion picture. That doesn’t really leave much room to speculate other than a new Donkey Kong movie.

The the of recordation for the filing was June 5, 2026. The date of execution is listed for two dates in May. In other words, this is a pretty recent filing.

This wouldn’t be Donkey Kong’s only recent appearance on the big screen. The character had a fairly sizable role in The Super Mario Bros. Movie. It’s also possible that DK could appear in next year’s film follow-up as well.

Donkey Kong has been seeing a big push as of late. The character will be starring in the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive Donkey Kong Bananza, which is the first time the series has received a 3D platformer since Donkey Kong 64.

Outside of Mario (and potentially Donkey Kong), there’s also a live action movie based on The Legend of Zelda. That project was delayed to May 2027 a little while back – you can read Shigeru Miyamoto’s statement about the change in date here.