The movie Super Mario Bros. seems to have changed Donkey Kong’s timeline and revealed that Cranky Kong is now Donkey Kong’s father, not his grandfather.
On what looks like a Japanese promotional website for the upcoming movie (via Resetera – opens in a new tab) we get a character description of Donkey Kong. The description reads: “Cranky Kong’s successor and son, who leads the Jungle Kingdom and Kong’s army. He’s a very powerful warrior, but he’s also a bit childish.”
What’s got fans scratching their heads is the fact that The Super Mario Bros. Movie claims that Donkey Kong is Cranky Kong’s son. A quick look at the Donkey Kong wiki (opens in a new tab) reveals that Donkey Kong is usually referred to as Cranky Kong’s grandson, and Diddy Kong is Cranky’s great-grandson.
As one fan of Bloodit looks like Nintendo/Illumination decided to erase Donkey Kong Jr. (previously thought to be Cranky’s son and Donkey Kong’s father) from the Donkey Kong timeline, at least for the movie.
I see they’re re-enacting the Rare era lore that modern DK is Cranky’s grandson and Jr.’s son. That makes me wonder if they’re going to show DK as Jr. at some point , maybe if DK gets its own spin-off. https://t.co/dChKhQBT95March 28, 2023
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You can’t really blame the studio, given that DK’s timeline is surprisingly confusing with so many different versions of the barrel-throwing gorilla. At least we now know for sure that Cranky Kong will be making more than an appearance in the upcoming film. Seth Rogen’s Donkey Kong father/grandfather figure will be played by actor Fred Armisen, who we recently saw as Uncle Fester in Netflix’s Wednesday series.
This may be the start of Nintendo making Donkey Kong a bigger figure again. We know that Super Nintendo World will soon feature a Donkey Kong area in the amusement park, making the attraction 70% bigger. Not only that, but a new Donkey Kong trademark was spotted last year being filed, perhaps suggesting that a new DK game was in the works that aligns with the new Donkey Kong game from the previously rumored Super Mario Odyssey team.
We’ll have to wait and see if we get a new Donkey Kong game, but to find out what’s definitely on the way, check out our next switch games list.