Universal Studios has announced its next major theme park, Universal Epic Universe, and revealed plans for a brand new iteration of the popular Super Nintendo World attraction. As detailed, the new park is set to open in 2025, with a range of worlds themed around Universal’s most popular properties: The Wizarding World / Harry Potter, How to Train Your Dragon, Universal Monsters (aka Dark Universe), and Super Mario (in partnership with Nintendo).
The park is described as the “most ambitious yet” for Universal, and that appears to be reflected in its concept art, which includes grand structures and portal-like gates for each part of the park. The entrance to the new Super Nintendo World features giant pipes reaching into the sky, and twirling power-ups including a Mushroom, and a Fire Flower.
Per concept art, this third version of Super Nintendo World will include a themed merchandise store, and buildings based on Peach’s Castle, complete with fancy fountains. The concept art does not reveal exactly how the new land will look – however, we can expect it to somewhat resemble the original Super Nintendo Worlds at Universal Studios Hollywood, and in Osaka, Japan.
Read: Super Nintendo World opens at Universal Studios Hollywood in 2023
Beyond a new iteration of Super Nintendo World, Universal’s new Epic Universe park will contain a host of other unique, explorable regions including:
- Celestial Park, which will feature “lush living gardens nestled along shimmering waters surrounded by stunning architecture inspired by astronomical and mythological elements.”
- Dark Universe, which appears to be a resurrection of Universal’s long-dead film franchise that began with Dracula Untold and The Mummy (2017). Guests will “encounter everything from the experiments of Dr. Victoria Frankenstein to the shadowy landscape where monsters roam in a world of myth and mystery” in this region.
- The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, a world inspired by the 1920s setting of Fantastic Beasts, as well as the Ministry of Magic featured in the Harry Potter films.
- How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, which is based on the How to Train Your Dragon film series, and will feature dragon-themed attractions.
The park will also include a hotel on location, the Universal Helios Grand Hotel. It reportedly features 500 rooms and direct access to the park, making it the ideal location to stay for those looking to explore Epic Universe or other Universal theme parks across multiple days.
Given the popularity of the other Super Nintendo World locations, and Universal theme parks as a whole, it’s likely Epic Universe will be incredibly packed when the park opens in 2025 – so those looking forward to exploring a new Mario-themed area may need to be patient to visit for themselves.
For now, it appears Universal has grand plans in the works, and that Nintendo will continue to feature heavily in their future theme parks.
