Nintendo might be making amends with Sony after leaving them hanging in the 90s.
According to emails obtained during the Sony Pictures' server hack, producer Avi Arad (who produced the Amazing Spider-Man films) messaged Sony studio chief Amy Pascal about getting the movie rights to Nintendo's star franchise, Super Mario Bros. "I am the proud father of mario the animated film [sic]," Arad wrote to Pascal on October 23. The email was followed with pictures that showed Arad loungin' with Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, and video game legend Shigeru Miyamoto, who created the franchise. “Happy ceo, lets get together, it’s the mother load. [sic]” Arad wrote.
Pascal sent the news to Tom Rothman of Sony-owned TriStar Pictures, saying, “Avi closed Mario brothers. Animated.”
Later the next day, Sony Pictures Animation president of production Michelle Raimo Kouyate sent a message to Arad congratulating him. “Thank you Avi Let’s build a Mario empire! I can think of 3-4 movies right out of the gate on this. So huge!” she wrote.
Plot details are absent since the film is still in early production, but Sony is sticking to the idea that it'll be animated—so no John Leguizamo and Bob Hoskins live-action flop, this time. With The Lego Movie doing well, Nintendo's own characters could be next in line to take on Disney's iconic animated ones. Yet, the deal for the rights might not be completely wrapped up. In a response to a report by BuzzFeed, Arad said that the deal was not closed, adding that it was “just the beginning.”
Sony Pictures and Sony Computer Entertainment (which makes PlayStation) are two divisions within Sony. Even so, there doesn't appear to be any emails that expressed concern about conflicts arising from making films about SCE's competitor. Sony is planning movies based on SCE's Sly Cooper and The Last of Us franchises.
1.
Believe it or not, Nintendo and Sony weren't always competitors. Back in 1988, Nintendo partnered with Sony to make a peripheral for the Super Nintendo that would have allowed it to play CDs. After a few years in development, Nintendo changed their minds and teamed up with Philips to make the add-on (which was never released). Sony took what they had left and turned it into the original PlayStation console. The PlayStation line has dominated Nintendo ever since.
