Nintendo has officially announced it's partnering with Illumination Entertainment to develop a movie starring Mario.

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The film will be co-produced by Nintendo representative director Shigeru Miyamoto and Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri. Universal Pictures and Nintendo are co-financing the project, and Universal Pictures will handle the film's theatrical distribution worldwide.News of this announcement follows reports this past November that Nintendo was close signing a deal with the studio behind Despicable Me , Minions and Sing to produce an animated Super Mario Bros. movie.In 2016, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima announced the company's plans to re-enter the film business with a focus on animation. A couple years prior, leaked emails revealed Sony Pictures was previously in negotiations with Nintendo to make a film starring the beloved platforming plumber.This wasn't the only big news from Nintendo today, as the company also revealed a Mario Kart game for mobile and announced when Switch's paid online service will launch

Alex Osborn is a freelance writer for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @alexcosborn