After strong performances in the two Super Mario Bros. movies, Nintendo‘s golden-haired princess might finally be ready to step into the spotlight on her own. A recently surfaced job listing shows a Senior Character Rig Designer from Illumination Paris working on ‘Untitled P P Movie’ and ‘Untitled P O Movie’ projects. The screenshot shows that the 15-year animator veteran has been in their current role for about two months. While it sounds very vague, @itsamedfffaz, a reliable leaker on anything Illumination, believes one of them refers to a codename for a Princess Peach spin-off movie.
On X, @itsamedfffaz explained that one of the P Movie projects has been identified as a Poppy Prescott film, a Despicable Me 4 spin-off. The other, however, is where things get interesting. Basically, it largely comes down to how Illumination structured its internal codenames. ‘M A’ is tied to Mario projects, ‘P O’ is for Poppy Prescott — which was already leaked beforehand — and that means ‘P P’ refers to Princess Peach’s initial.
Because the codenames are connected to the films the guy’s working on
‘M A’ is M A R I O (2) for Mario Galaxy‘P O’ can only mean ‘P O P P Y’ especially taking in mind that another non Minions spin-off for Despicable Me was scooped to be in the works last year alongside info for Monsters
So ‘P P’ would have to mean Princess Peach (to [separate] it from Poppy Prescott) and someone else here said it’s not ‘P E’ because it’s meant to codename the full name rather than just Peach and it seems these can’t be THAT long hence why no ‘P R’ either
Character Rig Designer itself is responsible for building the ‘digital skeleton’ of a 3D animated character. They also make sure that the characters move and emote properly according to the storyboard. It’s a core production role, meaning work is already underway, but still early enough that it’s years away before we see the final product.
Although the codename might simply refer to Princess Peach alone, some believed that this would be a Peach & Rosalina duo movie. Separate reports claimed that Nintendo is looking to explore spin-off stories about the princesses as well as Bowser.
What adds even more fuel to the fire is a separate leak tied to Universal Pictures’ release schedule. An ‘Untitled Illumination/Nintendo Event Film’ is currently set for April 12, 2028, release. Many believe this slot is reserved for a Donkey Kong movie, especially with prior reports pointing toward a 2028 release window.
Multiple reports also suggest Nintendo is going full steam ahead with its cinematic roadmap. A live-action Metroid adaptation is reportedly in a heated bidding war between Universal and Sony Pictures. A third Mario movie could land in 2029, with Jack Black even joking that these movies might start coming out every three years.
There are also whispers of projects based on Star Fox and Kirby, while ideas like Yoshi’s Island, Luigi’s Mansion, and Pikmin movie are said to be in various early stages. Even a Super Smash Bros. movie is said to be planned internally, despite Shigeru Miyamoto saying they’re not working on it.
As with any early leak, it’s best to treat this Princess Peach movie rumor with a grain of salt. Still, the idea and timeline don’t feel far-fetched at all. After the Mario movies’ massive $1 billion box office success, giving the Toadstool royal her own adventure feels less like a risk and more like the next obvious move.
