Nintendo announces that the company in charge of Kirby IP will be working on future films

A screenshot from the Kirby Air Riders reveal trailer, showing Kirby waving to the camera.
(Image credit: Nintendo)

Nintendo has announced a shake-up in one of its ventures – and it could quietly be good news for those hoping for the likes of a Kirby movie to float their way towards the box office.

"Nintendo Co., Ltd. hereby announces that WARPSTAR, Inc., which became a consolidated subsidiary as of April 1, 2025, has changed its name to Nintendo Stars Inc," the company said in a statement (H/T Wario64). "The company has been restructured as a Nintendo subsidiary responsible for the ancillary-use business tied to films that feature Nintendo Intellectual Property (IP)."

Translated from corpo-speak: Nintendo Stars will be assisting in any future film projects, which suggests Nintendo will be ramping-up its presence in Hollywood.

Curiously, Warpstar (a 50/50 investment between Nintendo and HAL Laboratory) has a history with managing the Kirby IP, which suggests the pink puffball could be among one of the first beneficiaries of Nintendo's continued march towards creating video game adaptations of its most popular properties.

Right now, only a couple of projects are in the works. The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2 will arrive next year after the billion-dollar grossing Illumination original marked Nintendo out as a major player in Hollywood.

In 2027, the Wes Ball-directed Legend of Zelda movie will be released. Not much is known about the live-action project, though we do have a pair of castings: Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Link and Bo Bragason as Zelda.

It remains to be seen whether Kirby will join that roster – Smash Bros crossover movie, when? – but the franchise is in rude health, especially with the imminent Switch 2 release of Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Kirby Air Riders is also releasing on November 20.

For more, be sure to discover the other upcoming video game movies currently in the works. Then dive into our picks of the best Switch 2 games.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

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