Nintendo is reportedly close to agreeing a license for an animated Super Mario Bros. movie with Illumination Entertainment, the studio behind Despicable Me, Minions and Sing.

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According to the Wall Street Journal , Illumination has been in talks with Nintendo for a year, with the deal close to sealed because Nintendo has been assured that it will be part of the creative process.Mario's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto has apparently been involved in the talks, and will likely serve as producer on the film if and when it's made.The project is apparently in early development at Illumination's Paris studio Mac Guff, which is primarily responsible for the Despicable Me films. It likely won't be released for several years.Last year, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima confirmed that the company wanted to re-enter the movie business , and leaned towards animation because of the (in)famously poor 1993 Super Mario film.In 2014, leaked emails showed that Sony Pictures had also been in talks with Nintendo about a potential animated Mario movie.It seems Nintendo sees this as a more natural fit - Illumination makes its movies for Universal, which is also creating the Super Nintendo World theme park

Joe Skrebels is IGN's UK News Editor, and he wants this entire film to be about Birdo. Follow him on Twitter