Sony Pictures appears to be planning an animated “Mario Bros.” movie produced by Avi Arad, who produced some of the studio’s biggest blockbusters to date.
BuzzFeed reports that an email dated Oct. 23, 2014, leaked as a result of the cyber hack attack, show Arad telling studio co-chair Amy Pascal that he is “the proud father of the mario animated film [sic].”
The baby was planned for a long time, too. A Feb. 23 email reveals Arad referencing a “Nintendo guy” in Tokyo, who “he has been courting for a couple years”
Although Arad told the outlet that no deal for the rights to the popular Nintendo video game franchise had closed, and negotiations were “just beginning,” he did send Pascal a photo of himself posing with Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata when sharing the good news about his baby.
“Happy ceo, lets get together, it’s the mother load [sic],” Arad wrote in October.
Sony had no comment for TheWrap.
Email records to show, however, that Pascal considered the deal to be “closed.” She forwarded Arad’s email about becoming a father to TriStar chairman Tom Rothman and wrote, “Avi closed Mario brothers [sic]. Animated.”