Japanese gaming giant Nintendo to make Super Mario movie with "Minions" studio

Beloved Super Mario is coming back! Japanese gaming company Nintendo announced Thursday that it's partnering with Illumination, the U.S. studio behind hit films "Despicable Me" and "Minions" to make an animated Super Mario movie, CNN reported.

A Super Mario figure greets shoppers at an electronics store in Tokyo, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018. [Photo: AP/Shizuo Kambayashi]

Nintendo says the project will be led by Shigeru Miyamoto, who designed Mario and The Legend of Zelda, among other popular games, and Chris Meledandri, whose famous works include "Despicable Me."

As the company's most well-known character, Mario is a legendary game icon for many millennials, who would likely expect to relive their childhood memories with a nostalgic new movie.

But Nintendo aims for more than that. As Forbes pointed out, the new film could be "another potentially massive revenue stream" for both the gaming giant and Illumination.

A previous attempt to make a Super Mario action movie in 1993 has seen disappointing box office figures, the CNN report noted. Whether the animated new movie will be successful remains to be seen.