Nintendo has announced that a new film featuring its iconic character Mario has entered into development. The Japanese video game giant is partnering with Illumination Entertainment, the American film and animation studio behind Despicable Me.

Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of the Mario series of video games, will produce the film with Illumination’s CEO Chris Meledandri. It will be distributed by Universal Pictures.

Illumination’s child-oriented films – among them Minions, Hop and The Secret Life of Pets as well as the Despicable Me series – have grossed a total of $5.7bn worldwide, the company says. Nintendo, the most enduring and well-known company in video games, reported a huge increase in sales and profits this week, following the release of its Switch console in 2016. Games featuring Mario, who first appeared in 1981’s Donkey Kong, have sold in excess of 500m copies.

The latest film project follows other attempts by the Japanese game company to diversify how its characters are used. In 2016, the company lent its Pokémon characters to mobile developer Niantic for smash-hit Pokémon Go. Universal Studios, meanwhile, is opening a Nintendo-themed area of its Osaka theme park in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with plans to build similar areas in its California and Florida parks.

Only one other Mario film has ever been made: 1993’s infamous Super Mario Bros, starring Bob Hoskins. The character appeared in several television series, most recently in 1991.